The Bureau of Industry and Security on March 29 released an interim final rule to update, correct and clarify its October 2023 chip controls that placed new restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China. The 186-page rule takes effect April 4 and seeks public comments on the changes by April 29.
China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry objected to cyber-related sanctions announced earlier this week by the U.S. and the U.K., calling them “groundless.”
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met this week to discuss Russia-related sanctions evasion. Treasury said Adeyemo stressed the importance of “strengthening the international response” to Russia through combating “the evasion of sanctions and export control measures,” and “both confirmed the importance of enforcement of the” global price cap on Russian oil. The U.S. has sanctioned Estonia-based companies (see 2403250029), and in October added others to the Commerce Department’s Entity List (see 2310060044) for helping Russia evade sanctions and export controls.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week delisted a Netherlands-based entity that it had sanctioned in 2022 for being owned by Dutch national Alex Adrianus Martinus Peijnenburg. OFAC said Peijnenburg ran an illegal dark web drug trafficking network. The announcement removed the entity Bellizo from the Specially Designated Nationals List.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six people and two entities based in Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates for helping to generate revenue or process financial transactions for North Korea.
The U.S. and the U.K. this week sanctioned Mustafa Ayash and Aozma Sultana, the founders of companies that fundraise on behalf of the terror group Hamas. The U.S. also sanctioned the companies: Gaza Now, which is owned by Ayash, and Al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Limited, operated by Sultana.
The Bureau of Industry and Security hasn't yet made a decision on whether to move forward with export controls on automated peptide synthesizers after proposing the restrictions in April last year (see 2304190060), a Commerce Department official said this week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is still developing a proposed rule to prevent sophisticated hacking tools and expertise from being exported to foreign governments that spy on their own citizens, a Commerce Department official said March 27.
The head of the Bureau of Industry and Security this week called on companies to double down on their export compliance and due diligence efforts, saying the agency is reaching out to exporters to make sure they’re catching red flags and monitoring for possible export control evasion.
The U.S. is pushing foreign governments to stop their semiconductor companies from servicing certain advanced chip tools under pre-existing contracts with Chinese customers, Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said.