The Bureau of Industry and Security recently withdrew a proposed rule that would have imposed export controls on certain additive manufacturing equipment used to print “energetic materials” and related software and technology. BIS sent the rule for interagency review last month and was expected to propose the equipment for control at the Wassenaar Arrangement (see 2107270004). A BIS spokesperson declined to comment.
The Swiss Federal Council implemented greater restrictions on trade with Belarus Aug. 11 in response to the continuing repression of civil society and the opposition, the council said. The new sanctions package includes restrictions on trade in monitoring equipment, dual-use goods and technologies, petroleum and potassium chloride products, and goods used for tobacco production. Further, the council placed limits on the “issuance of and trading in certain financial instruments," along with the provision of loans and insurance to the Belarusian government. The country also imposed specific financial sanctions on Belaeronavigatsia, Belarus' state-owed air navigation services provider.
The Biden administration should continue to increase Chinese trade restrictions but has done a good job pressuring the country so far, said Nazak Nikakhtar, a former acting head of the Bureau of Industry and Security during the Trump administration. Nikakhtar recently told Nikkei Asia she and others were initially “nervous” that President Joe Biden would ease some restrictions but has been pleased to see a continuation of many of the same export control measures begun under President Donald Trump.
Two lawmakers said the U.S. should impose more sanctions against Cuba for its suppression of pro-democracy protests, but other measures are needed as well.
The Environmental Protection Agency released a final rule Aug. 13 setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for three chemical substances subject to Premanufacture Notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemical substances will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Oct. 15. The SNURs cover the following:
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 13 sanctioned an Omani businessman and his companies for aiding an international oil smuggling network that supports Iran. The agency also designated more Cuban government officials and a military unit for human rights violations.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network fined one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange companies $100 million for failing to maintain a compliant anti-money laundering program, which violated the Bank Secrecy Act, according to a recent penalty notice. The violations also exposed other BitMEX compliance issues, including its deficient sanctions screening.
Tarif Akhras, founder of the Akhras Group and chairman of Syria's Homs Chamber of Commerce, was removed from the United Kingdom's Syrian sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Notice said in a financial sanctions notice Aug. 12. The delisting notice provided no explanation for his removal.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated six total listings under their Belarus and Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regimes Aug. 12, changing four and two listings, respectively, in two financial sanctions notices. The altered listings under the Belarus sanctions scheme were for Mikhail Safarbekovich Gutseriev, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and his son, Viktor Aliaksandravich Lukashenko, and Igor Petrovich Sergeenko. The changes under the global anti-corruption sanctions were for Alvaro Enrique Pulido Vargas and Alex Nain Saab Moran.
The European Union's blocking statute should be revised due to the increasing complexity and proliferation of extra-territorial sanctions and the bloc's "strong exposure to certain third countries," the European Commission suggested in a recently published impact assessment of the statute. The blocking regulations are meant to protect EU businesses from extra-territorial sanctions, including those imposed by the U.S., which are increasingly leading to global sanctions compliance issues in Europe (see 2108020030 and 2002190038).