A new strategy by the Bureau of Industry and Security to add a set of addresses -- instead of company names -- to the Entity List could lead to screening challenges for exporters, industry officials told the agency this week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is working on another rule to address some of the comments it received from its updated semiconductor export controls released in October (see 2310170055), said Sharron Cook, a senior BIS export policy analyst.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on June 24 will add three companies associated with Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky to the Entity List, the agency said in a notice released June 20. The companies, two located in Russia and one located in the U.K., work with Russian military and intelligence authorities, BIS said. They will be subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under a presumption of denial.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is hoping to publish a rule this summer that would again update or clarify how export controls apply to releases of technology for standards setting or development in standards organizations, said Hillary Hess, director of the BIS regulatory policy division.
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands last week sustained the conviction of a person (name redacted) for violating the nation's sanctions laws, according to an unofficial translation. The court found that the accused's transfer of money to the person's brother, who's a fighter for ISIS in Syria, amounted to the transfer of funds to a terrorist organization, in violation of Dutch sanctions laws.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued two temporary denial orders last week as part of the Biden administration's latest package of Russia-related sanctions and export controls (see 2406120036), targeting companies and people in the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Turkey and Indonesia for sending export controlled items to Russia.
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Tim Scott, R-S.C., asked the Treasury Department last week to tell him when it plans to provide lawmakers with an overdue report on Iran sanctions.
The House of Representatives last week approved a proposal that would require the administration to report to Congress on how proceeds from illicit Iranian oil exports are funding Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Tehran’s terrorist proxies.
The U.S. last week sanctioned a “violent, extremist” Israel-based group for blocking convoys of humanitarian aid from being delivered to Palestinians in Gaza. The designation targets Tzav 9, which has worked for months to block roads, damage aid trucks and destroy life-saving equipment destined to Gaza, the State Department said. “We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to promote accountability for those who attempt or undertake such heinous acts, and we expect and urge that Israeli authorities do the same,” the State Department said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned several people and entities, along with one vessel, for helping to procure weapons for the Iran-backed Houthis or for shipping commodities to fund the Yemen-based group. The designations target procurement officers and companies in China along with others in Oman, Cameroon and the United Arab Emirates.