China’s Ministry of Commerce criticized the latest semiconductor export control rule released by the U.S. last week, saying it has “overextended the concept of national security, arbitrarily modified rules, and tightened control measures.” That the U.S. issued an export control update “less than half a year after the last time” has caused “huge uncertainty.”
U.S. government officials at the Bureau of Industry and Security’s annual conference last week underscored the value of Mandarin-language skills when conducting due diligence on potential Chinese customers.
Fares Abdo Al Eyani of Oakland, California, was sentenced March 29 to 12 months and a day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for "conspiring to export defense articles and attempting to export defense articles" to Oman, DOJ announced.
The House is drafting a national security supplemental appropriations bill that could include a provision to seize frozen Russian assets in the U.S. and transfer the money to Ukraine, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said March 31.
The Bureau of Industry and Security completed nearly a quarter of its end-use checks with a “less than favorable outcome” in FY 2023, a Commerce Department official said, meaning the agency couldn’t verify those end-users as a reliable recipient of U.S.-origin export-controlled goods.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is working on a host of proposed or final regulations that could be published in the next few months, officials said last week, including revisions to its defense services controls and an exemption for certain defense trade with Australia and the U.K.
A Bureau of Industry and Security rule released last week (see 2403290060) that updated and corrected portions of the agency’s October semiconductor export controls (see 2310170055) also added a new license exception and offered clarifications to export guidance issued by BIS over the last year. The changes take effect April 4, and comments are due by April 29.
The U.K. on March 27 updated its guidance on how to request a change or revocation of a financial sanctions designation under its counter-terrorism sanctions regime. The updates said that sanctioned parties or their representatives should complete a sanctions review request form "as fully as possible," and that evidence from "reliable sources that can be verified and corroborated is likely to be more influential," according to the Global Sanctions blog. The guidance was also updated to say that once a party submits a request, "no further request may be made unless there is a significant matter which was not previously considered," the blog said.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation March 28 issued a general license allowing certain wind-down transactions and insurance-related transactions with certain vessels managed by sanctioned shipping company Active Denizcilik ve Gemi Isletmeciligi Anonim Sirketi. The license also authorizes certain transactions between Active Denizcilik and insurers that help the company's vessels reach their port of discharge or a safe port to discharge cargo that was onboard as of March 28. The license expires June 11.
A new list published last week by the Bureau of Industry and Security names more than 150 entities that have asked companies to boycott goods from certain countries. BIS hopes the list helps “raise awareness” among companies, financial institutions, freight forwarders and others about where boycott requests may come from, allowing them to better comply with the agency’s anti-boycott regulations, said Matthew Axelrod, the BIS assistant secretary for export enforcement.