Lawmakers this week reintroduced two Venezuela sanctions bills as the new 119th Congress gears up for business.
In one of its first acts in the 119th Congress, the House of Representatives passed a bill Jan. 9 that would sanction International Criminal Court (ICC) officials for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials over the war in Gaza (see 2501060025).
A list published this week by the Institute for Financial Integrity outlines red flags that may signal a bank’s customer or counterparty is a shell company working to evade export control regulations.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls published a list this week of commodity jurisdiction (CJ) determinations for items controlled under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI, which covers defense articles and services “not otherwise enumerated” under other USML categories.
The Biden administration’s upcoming AI chip-related export controls likely will upset key U.S. allies, especially the EU, by reinforcing the notion that the U.S. relies too heavily on extraterritorial controls and is “hellbent” on maintaining American technology leadership, the Center for European Policy Analysis said this week.
ASML, the major Dutch semiconductor tooling firm, is being accused of misleading investors about how its projected China sales and revenues were impacted by recently imposed export controls.
The State Department’s recently published fall 2024 regulatory agenda previews a range of export control rules the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is hoping to issue this year, including one that would finalize an updated definition for defense services and others that would make various changes to the U.S. Munitions List.
The U.S. on Jan. 10 announced a new set of sanctions against Russia’s energy sector, targeting major Russian oil producers, oil service providers and insurance companies, as well as vessels and traders moving Russian oil as part of the country’s shadow fleet. Treasury said the designations target two of Russia’s “most significant” oil producers and exporters -- Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas -- along with more than 180 other people, ships and traders involved in Russian oil trade.
Joshua Levy, a DOJ attorney who oversaw multiple high-profile export control-related cases, will resign from the federal government Jan. 17, the agency announced this week. Levy most recently served as the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, leading an office that charged two men in December for shipping sensitive drone technology to Iran (see 2412170021) and that fined American defense firm RTX in October to resolve allegations that it tried to defraud the U.S. government and commit defense export control violations (see 2410160058).
The State Department is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation, the agency said in a notice released Jan. 8 and effective Jan. 10. The new amounts, which include revised maximum penalties for violations of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Arms Export Control Act, will apply only to penalties assessed on or after Jan. 10, the agency said.