The European Commission this week outlined a new plan to gradually phase out imports of Russian oil, gas and nuclear energy while diversifying European energy imports by buying more from other markets. The “roadmap” details a series of proposals the commission plans to make in the coming weeks, including one that would ban all new and existing Russian gas spot contracts by the end of the year and all remaining Russian gas imports by 2027.
The Senate Banking Committee voted 13-11 along party lines May 6 to approve Landon Heid to be assistant secretary of commerce for export administration, sending his nomination to the full Senate for consideration.
Eric Longnecker, a longtime senior Bureau of Industry and Security official who most recently served as the agency's deputy assistant secretary for technology security, left BIS last week, he announced on LinkedIn. Longnecker -- who was named to the position last year to oversee work on emerging and foundational technology export controls, foreign technology analysis and research to assess the effectiveness of export controls (see 2405070005) -- said he accepted the government's early retirement offer. He had been with BIS since 2004.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., reintroduced a bill April 29 that would state it's no longer U.S. policy that the Missile Technology Control Regime's presumption of denial applies to NATO, major non-NATO allies and Five Eyes countries. The measure, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is designed to ensure the MTCR does not impede joint development of advanced missile technology under Pillar II of the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership. The bill was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which approved the measure in the last Congress (see 2407100058).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week designated the Myanmar militia group Karen National Army as a transnational criminal organization for its role in supporting multiple cyber-scam syndicates targeting U.S. citizens. OFAC also sanctioned the group’s leader, Saw Chit Thu, and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit.
Companies must spend more resources on export compliance, and governments need to do a better job of coordinating and updating multilateral export control lists, in order to prevent Russia, Iran and other “rogue actors” from buying as many sensitive dual-use goods, researchers said this week.
EU and Lithuanian authorities last month raided a logistics business suspected of illegally exporting items to Russia and Belarus, seizing more than $1.7 million worth of goods from the company. The items allegedly were made in EU countries before the company rerouted them through Central Asian countries to circumvent EU sanctions, the European Anti-Fraud Office and the Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service said.
Real estate developer Charles Kushner, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to France, said May 1 that he would encourage the French government to reimpose sanctions on Iran for violating its nuclear-weapons-related obligations.
During a closed-door meeting with U.S. lawmakers May 1, Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang reiterated his opposition to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s recent AI diffusion rule, the company said.
The Treasury Department last week sanctioned Haitian gangs Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, and the State Department designated them as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The State Department called the gangs a "direct threat to U.S. national security interests in our region," saying they have killed and attacked Haitian residents and security forces and are "committed to overthrowing the government of Haiti."