A bipartisan group of six House members urged the Biden administration last week to step up enforcement of oil sanctions against Iran to reduce Tehran’s ability to fund terrorism.
The House of Representatives this week might consider a bill to impose property-blocking sanctions on Chinese Communist Party leaders for committing human rights violations, according to a House floor calendar. A House Rules Committee hearing on the Stop CCP Act is scheduled for Sept. 23. The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the bill by a 28-22 vote in March (see 2403210076).
The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation revised identifying information for Ri Pyong Chul under its North Korea sanctions list following a similar move by the U.N. Security Council (see 2409180005). The change lists his position as vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Military Commission.
China’s State Council this week passed a set of revised draft regulations for dual-use export controls, according to an unofficial translation of a Sept. 18 report from state-run news agency Xinhua that was posted to the Ministry of Commerce website. The ministry didn’t immediately release more information. Beijing has recently issued new export restrictions for a range of dual-use technologies, including in August when it published new requirements for certain drones, drone parts, infrared imaging equipment and more (see 2407310015).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is drafting a proposed rule that could revise its space-related export controls, including by adding new License Exception Commercial Space Activities (CSA).
The chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere urged the Biden administration Sept. 20 to take further steps to cut the oil revenue the Venezuelan government has available to it to repress political dissent.
Companies should continue to expect an “aggressive” U.S. sanctions enforcement landscape heading into next year, and should consider increasing the amount of due diligence they undertake if they haven’t already, panelists said during an event last week about sanctions compliance.
The U.K.’s Export Control Joint Unit is changing how it processes license applications to try to increase efficiency, it said in a notice this week.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and 10 other Republican senators introduced a wide-ranging China bill Sept. 19 that contains several export control, sanction and foreign investment provisions, including “modifying the Missile Technology Control Regime” to increase cooperation under the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership.
Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Tim Kaine, D-Va., both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a bill Sept. 19 that would authorize the president to sanction foreign adversary entities that provide support to China’s maritime militia.