The European Council on March 25 extended until March 31, 2026, its sanctions related to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Council announced. The sanctions target those who undermine the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, threaten the security situation in the nation or "undermine the Dayton/Paris General Framework Agreement for Peace."
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently officially launched its new website. The agency had been operating a beta version of the website since at least December (see 2312040016). The new site has tabs on licensing information, enforcement updates, export guidance, a tool to search the Export Administration Regulations and more.
The Senate voted 51-47 on March 23 to defeat a proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would have prohibited the Biden administration from waiving certain sanctions against Iran.
The U.S. and the U.K. this week sanctioned a Chinese company and two people for carrying out cyberattacks against American and British entities and critical infrastructure sectors.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 13 entities and two people with ties to Russia’s financial services and technology industries for offering services to evade U.S. sanctions. OFAC said many of the companies operate blockchain-based services that allow virtual currency payments in Russia’s financial sector, “thus enabling potential sanctions evasion.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently completed a round of interagency review for a final rule to make tweaks, clarifications and corrections to its recent chip export control updates released in October (see 2310170055). BIS sent the correction rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Nov. 27 (see 2311280005), and the review was completed March 21. BIS has said the agency is looking to clarify several issues that exporters have raised since the controls were updated and correct other provisions that “may not have fully hit the mark we intended” (see 2311060067, 2311160044 and 2401260051).
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls published new guidance this week to clarify how and when joint ventures must be included on registration statements. The new frequently asked questions cover companies subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and that are governed by a joint venture agreement.
The Census Bureau this week alerted export filers about two new license codes in the Automated Export System for License Exception Notified Advanced Computing (NAC), the exception introduced last year by the Bureau of Industry and Security for certain exports of semiconductors that fall just below the agency’s most recently updated chip control parameters (see 2311200042 and 2401030053). Companies using the license exception and exporting certain chips must submit notifications to BIS with data about the chip, including its total processing performance, the name of the exporter and other parties to the transactions, and the volume and value of the shipment.
The European Council on March 22 sanctioned 33 people and two entities linked to the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The listings, under the EU's global human rights sanctions regime, include the two penal colonies where Navalny was held from June 2022 until his death last month, along with the head of one of those colonies, Vadim Kalinin, and other "various deputy heads of the colony." Members of the judiciary were also sanctioned, including Andrey Suvorov, who sentenced Navalny to 19 years in prison, and Kirill Nikiforov, who rejected Navalny's suit against the penal colony.
The EU General Court on March 20 annulled the sanctions listing of tire maker Belshyna AAT, finding that the company wasn't a significant source of revenue for the Belarusian government.