The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved several sanctions and export control bills April 9, including one that would increase sanctions on Iran's energy sector to deprive Tehran of revenue it uses to fund terrorism.
The U.S. this week sanctioned Mexican national Jesus Alfredo Beltran Guzman for trafficking illegal drugs into the U.S. and for being a key leader of the drug trafficking group Beltran Leyva Organization. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said the group is "one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world, and it has moved fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine into the U.S.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned five Iranian companies and one person for supporting entities that work on Iran's nuclear program, including the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Iran Centrifuge Technology Co. OFAC said the designations target companies procuring or making critical technologies for the two Iranian organizations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published Arabic translations of several general licenses that authorize certain transactions with the Yemen-based Houthis, also known as Ansarallah. The licenses cover transactions related to certain agricultural goods, telecommunications, personal remittances, petroleum products, port operations and diplomatic missions.
Exporters and other companies could start seeing an uptick in government subpoenas as the Bureau of Industry and Security looks to increase export penalties, industry officials said this week, adding that businesses should make sure they’re scrutinizing transactions and watching for red flags.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has named Stephen Lovegrove, a former U.K. national security adviser and defense minister, the special representative to the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. Lovegrove called AUKUS a “uniquely powerful partnership which will develop and deliver cutting-edge capabilities” and help boost the U.K.’s defense industrial base. “I look forward to starting work immediately to help maximise the potential of this vital partnership,” he said.
Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Louis Sola this week applauded the Panama Maritime Authority for recently removing from its registry more than 100 vessels sanctioned by the U.S. and other governments, saying the move is helping to pressure Iran and other nations operating so-called shadow fleets. He also said the FMC may investigate other registries that haven’t removed those ships.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company may face a fine of up to $1 billion or more if the Commerce Department determines it violated U.S. export control laws against Huawei, Reuters reported April 8. The Bureau of Industry and Security has reportedly been investigating the chip company after one of its chips was found in a Huawei product (see 2411120011 and 2410230019), and Reuters said Commerce could reach a $1 billion penalty because export control regulations allow the agency to issue a fine of up to twice the value of transactions that violate the rules. Reuters said it "could not determine how the Trump administration will proceed with TSMC or when the matter would be resolved."
Sens. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced a bill April 8 that would require the administration to write a report to Congress on Hong Kong’s role in export control and sanctions evasion.
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