Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Some companies are struggling to meet a due diligence threshold set by the U.S. government for sales to foreign suppliers accused of illegal sales to Russia, said Anne van de Heetkamp, vice president of product management for global trade intelligence at Descartes Systems Group.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., urged the Biden administration last week to take action against Chinese companies that form U.S.-based subsidiaries to evade sanctions and other restrictions imposed by the U.S. government.
The U.N. Security Council recently removed Yassine Chekkouri from its ISIL (Da’esh) and al‑Qaida sanctions list “after concluding its consideration” of a delisting request received by the council. The council didn’t provide a specific reason for Chekkouri’s delisting. Chekkouri was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2002 for his ties to al‑Qaida and his involvement in arms and weapons trafficking.
The Bureau of Industry and Security should clarify whether new export controls aimed at preventing China from obtaining advanced computing chips apply to artifical intelligence-capable central processing units (CPUs), researchers with Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security reached a $44,750 settlement with Streamlight, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of portable lighting products, after BIS said the firm violated the Export Administration Regulations’ antiboycott provisions. Streamlight committed the antiboycott violations by certifying to a freight forwarder -- as it prepared for a Bahrain trade show -- that its goods didn’t come from Israel.
Sandler Travis hired two trade lawyers and an import compliance specialist to expand its trade service offerings, the law firm announced Aug. 23. Lawyer William Marshall will focus on import and supply chain issues while Narges Kahvazadeh will provide legal counsel on export controls and sanctions. Regina Walton, a licensed customs broker, joined the firm as an auditor with a focus on import compliance matters.
Companies should prepare for the annual Sept. 30 deadline for filing reports on blocked property to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Davis Wright said in a client alert last week. The law firm also noted that an interim final rule issued by OFAC in May requires filers of blocked property to now only submit those documents electronically instead of through mail, along with other "new requirements" for reports of blocked property and rejected transactions (see 2405080023).
The U.S. issued nearly 400 new financial blocking sanctions last week against people and companies in Russia and across Asia, Europe and the Middle East for aiding Russia’s war effort against Ukraine. The designations, issued by the Treasury and State departments, target “numerous” Russia-related procurement and sanctions evasion networks along with businesses involved in the Russian energy and mining industries, supporting the country’s military industrial base, connected to Russian state-owned entities, helping to forcibly re-educate Ukrainian children and more.
New guidance issued last week by the Bureau of Industry and Security outlines how exporters should use contractual clauses in their sales contracts to prevent Russia-related trade violations, including how BIS views the EU’s requirement for a “no-Russia” clause. The agency also warned foreign corporate service providers about letting “bad actors” use rented addresses for billing or shipping, which they can use to evade detection when violating export controls.