Companies should expect the Treasury Department to aggressively penalize violators of its upcoming outbound investment prohibitions relatively soon after those rules are finalized, lawyers with Kirkland & Ellis said this week. They also said American chip companies and other technology firms are considering inserting new outbound investment-related warranties in their contracts and may start pulling out of existing investment deals that could soon be captured by the new prohibitions.
Robert Viglietta is starting a new role within the Office of Foreign Assets Control as a public affairs officer after about two years as a senior sanctions coordinator for the agency, he announced on LinkedIn. Viglietta said he will use his “experience as a sanctions practitioner” to help with OFAC public engagement.
David Horn was named assistant chief counsel for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, he announced on LinkedIn. Horn joined OFAC last year as an attorney adviser.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has completed hiring leaders as part of a restructuring of its export administration offices, the agency announced July 30. The latest hire, Julia Khersonsky, a former State Department foreign affairs officer, joined the Bureau of Industry and Security this month as the agency’s first deputy assistant secretary for strategic trade, where she will oversee the offices of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls, Nonproliferation and Treaty Compliance, and Exporter Services. BIS earlier this year appointed longtime BIS officials Matt Borman to be the agency’s new principal deputy assistant secretary and Eric Longnecker to be its new deputy assistant secretary for technology security (see 2405070005). BIS announced its internal restructuring plans at its annual conference in March.
To punish the Venezuelan government for trying to “steal” the country’s presidential election, the Biden administration should impose sanctions and revoke oil licenses, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said July 30. McCaul is one of several Republican lawmakers pushing for sanctions against Venezuela. Senior administration officials said this week they are considering “consequences,” including sanctions, in response to the recent election (see 2407290044).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned five people and seven entities across mainland China, Hong Kong and Iran for helping to provide key parts to Iran’s missile and drone programs. OFAC said they procure accelerometers, gyroscopes and other components that “serve as key inputs” for Iranian weapons programs, which that country uses to produce drones for Russia and its “proxies” in the Middle East.
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The U.S. should start designating Chinese banks under a December executive order that authorizes secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that help facilitate Russia-related transactions, a group advocating for democracy in Hong Kong said in a new report this month.
The Pentagon should drop its outdated approach to technology security and export controls and allow American defense companies to work more efficiently with U.S. allies, a Defense Department advisory committee said in a new report this month. The committee said the agency needs major revisions to the way it treats restrictions under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, warning that DOD is “failing to address shortcomings in international engagement amid a rapidly evolving global security landscape.”
The Biden administration is doing too little to counter China’s material support for Russia’s war machine, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said July 30.