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.
The Biden administration announced June 12 it's taking additional measures to degrade Russia’s war machine, sanctioning more than 300 entities and people and imposing several significant export restrictions, including the addition of five entities and eight addresses to the Entity List. The sanctions target Chinese companies that provide dual-use goods to Russia's defense industrial base, and foreign financial institutions that aid Russia's military. The export restrictions include a crackdown on diversion through shell companies.
The Biden administration this week will announce a new set of export controls and sanctions aimed at impeding Russia’s ability to continue fighting Ukraine, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said June 11.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned shipping companies, shipowners, vessels and others based in China, the United Arab Emirates, India and elsewhere for helping to transport oil and commodities for Sa’id al-Jamal (see 2312280012, 2401120015 and 2403260016), a financial facilitator for the Yemen-based Houthis. OFAC said the network helps to forge shipping documents and hide their cargo origin to evade U.S. sanctions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's April rule to reduce certain export license requirements for Australia and the U.K. should incorporate some minor changes to clarify what types of exports are covered, the Aerospace Industries Association said in comments to the agency. AIA also asked BIS to clarify whether the new rules will include a transition period and to make sure the changes will be reflected in export filing requirements.
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs announced June 3 that starting June 14, the export of nitrocellulose to Russia and Belarus will be banned, according to an unofficial translation. The move comes after the island banned the export of 77 "machine tools" to the two nations earlier this year, the ministry said. Nitrocellulose is a "key component of smokeless gunpowder" and has already been designated as a controlled item in the U.S. and the EU. The ministry also reminded traders that the fine for first-time illegal exports to Russia and Belarus "has been significantly increased" to about $138,000.
Dimitry Timashev, a dual U.S. and Russian citizen, pleaded guilty on June 7 to illegally exporting firearm parts and ammunition to Russia, DOJ announced.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced a bill last week that would reauthorize the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act for five years. The 2019 law, which expires later this year, requires the president to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong. Rubio's bill was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Four Republican senators asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a letter last week to explain why her department hasn’t made greater use of its authority to sanction those who commit human rights violations against China’s Uyghur minority.
The U.K. last week updated the listing for International Gateways Group of Company Limited under its Myanmar sanctions regime. The listing changed the name of the firm from International Gateways Group of Companies to International Gateways Group of Company and the address of the entity. The U.K. also said the company has been involved in the "repression of the civilian population in Myanmar" and the "commission of serious human rights violations" in the nation.