The U.K.’s Export Control Joint Unit issued two penalties valued at 348,000 pounds (about $457,000) combined between April and June, the agency announced last week. It fined one exporter 258,000 pounds (about $339,000) in April for alleged illegal transfers of dual-use goods, and fined another exporter 90,853.20 pounds (about $119,000) in June for alleged illegal exports of military goods. ECJU didn’t provide more information.
Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced a bill Sept. 12 that would require the Commerce, Defense and Treasury departments to notify each other when adding a foreign entity or person to an export control or sanctions list. The proposed Sanctions Lists Harmonization Act is intended to improve coordination among the agencies and “prevent bad actors, such as Communist China, Russia and Iran, from taking advantage of a disjointed policy,” Rubio said. The measure, which was referred to the Senate Banking Committee, is a companion to a bill the House passed Sept. 9 (see 2409100024).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week issued a reminder to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. Holders of blocked property must provide the agency "with a comprehensive list of all blocked property held as of June 30 of the current year by September 30," OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week added two Russian nationals and three Russian entities to its Specially Designated Nationals List and issued a new general license.
A new final rule released last week by the Office of Foreign Assets Control will clarify the agency’s process for issuing certain blocked property orders or orders that impose “less than full blocking” restrictions. The rule, effective Sept. 17, describes the three types of actions OFAC may take with respect to property or interests in property, the “forms of notice” that OFAC may use, and how parties affected by blocked property orders can contact the agency with “inquiries.” The agency said those affected by sanctions “should have an opportunity to understand the nature of OFAC’s action and its impact on their property or interests in property.” The rule also makes other minor revisions and clarifications to its sanctions regulations.
The EU last week said it will impose new sanctions in response to a recent transfer of Iranian missiles to Russia, saying the transfer was a “direct threat to European security” and is a “substantive material escalation from” previous shipments of Iranian drones and ammunition to Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The next U.S. presidential administration will face a host of emerging technology issues in international trade, including advanced computing chips, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centers, quantum and telecommunications infrastructure, said Nazak Nikakhtar, a Wiley Rein partner and a former acting Bureau of Industry and Security undersecretary.
The U.K. will officially launch a new agency Oct. 10 to oversee civil enforcement of certain sanctions and trade restrictions for controlled goods and services moving or being provided outside the U.K. The new Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation, first unveiled last year (see 2312110016), will investigate and impose fines on U.K. sanctions violators and introduce new reporting requirements for businesses, potentially to include information about their due diligence practices.
Congress should consider encouraging greater use of export controls and sanctions to counter a recent surge in the repression of political dissent abroad, hearing witnesses told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week.
The EU General Court on Sept. 11 rejected the Russian National Settlement Depository's challenge to its listing on the Russian sanctions list. The court said that the European Council didn't fail to show that the depository, which provides financial services and securities record-keeping and custody services, plays an "essential role in the functioning of Russia's financial system."