Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is calling on the Biden administration to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela’s government for arresting political opposition leaders and blocking presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado from this year’s election.
The U.S. and the EU continued to discuss export controls, investment screening and other economic statecraft tools during the sixth meeting of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council last week, saying they have made progress harmonizing export licensing decisions and plan to soon launch a new investment screening initiative. The two sides also renewed a mechanism to pinpoint and prevent global semiconductor supply chains issues and announced a new forum to coordinate on critical minerals trade.
U.K.-based aerospace manufacturer Vertical Aerospace said the Bureau of Industry and Security decided not to penalize it after determining the company likely violated U.S. export controls.
U.S. and EU officials speaking in Belgium didn’t divulge many details about what they expect to come from the sixth meeting of the Trade and Technology Council this week, saying mostly that they hope the forum will continue no matter who wins upcoming elections in the U.S. and Europe (see 2403120066).
The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 2 renewed the temporary denial order for Russian air cargo carrier Aviastar for one year after finding it continues to violate U.S. export controls. The agency said the airline has continued to illegally operate aircraft subject to the Export Administration Regulations, including for flights within Russia and between Russia and China.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, and 12 other Republican senators criticized the Biden administration’s renewal of an Iran sanctions waiver last month, saying the move will help Tehran fund terrorism.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Dubai-based Oceanlink Maritime DMCC, along with 13 of its ships, for helping to transport Iranian commodities for the country’s military. OFAC said Oceanlink has used its vessels to generate revenue for Iran, including through the Hecate, a vessel the company used to load more than $100 million worth of Iranian commodities through a ship-to-ship transfer from another sanctioned tanker, the Dover.
Sanctions compliance professionals should familiarize themselves with several advisories authorities recently issued to help spot “dark fleet” vessels that seek to evade the price cap on Russian oil sales or oil sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, experts said April 4 during a webinar hosted by the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists.
Banks are facing rising pressure from regulators to catch red flags that may signal export control evasion, lawyers and industry officials said this week. As that pressure mounts, they said many financial institutions still struggle to understand how much and what type of due diligence is needed to catch customers that may be violating export controls.
Jason Prince, former chief counsel for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, has joined Akin Gump's economic sanctions practice, the law firm announced April 3. Prince was most recently a sanctions and export controls lawyer with Crowell & Moring after leaving OFAC in 2022.