Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this week threatened sanctions against Chinese banks if they facilitate payments that aid Russia’s military and urged Beijing against placing unclear restrictions on sales from certain U.S. chip companies, saying American firms want more transparency in China.
David Laufman, former chief of DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, is retiring, he announced on LinkedIn last week. Laufman was most recently a partner with Wiggin and Dana (see 1905140075) after leaving DOJ in 2018, where he oversaw the agency’s export control and sanctions investigations and prosecutions.
The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on April 2 released a blog post covering compliance with financial sanctions in the maritime sector. The agency listed six tips to stay compliant with the sanctions, including understanding your "counterparties" and conducting "thorough due diligence." OFSI also called for "robust compliance policies and procedures" and to invest in "technology and screening tools." Companies should also conduct "ongoing training and awareness programs," stay informed about new sanctions and create environments for "collaboration and information sharing."
The U.K. High Court of Justice last week said it has jurisdiction to hear a nearly $10 billion dispute between Russian aircraft companies and the owners, lessors and financing banks of those aircraft leased to Russia.
The European Commission on April 2 updated 19 of its Russia sanctions FAQs related to services for the Russian government and entities.
American and Chinese officials discussed tariffs, export controls and market access issues during the April 2-5 first meetings of the U.S.-China Commercial Issues Working Group, both countries said in readouts after the talks.
Two Russian nationals living in Florida pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act by illegally shipping aviation technology to Russian end users, DOJ announced April 4.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is calling on the Biden administration to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela’s government for arresting political opposition leaders and blocking presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado from this year’s election.
The U.S. and the EU continued to discuss export controls, investment screening and other economic statecraft tools during the sixth meeting of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council last week, saying they have made progress harmonizing export licensing decisions and plan to soon launch a new investment screening initiative. The two sides also renewed a mechanism to pinpoint and prevent global semiconductor supply chains issues and announced a new forum to coordinate on critical minerals trade.
U.K.-based aerospace manufacturer Vertical Aerospace said the Bureau of Industry and Security decided not to penalize it after determining the company likely violated U.S. export controls.