European countries need to increase sanctions against Venezuela to force a regime change and limit Nicolas Maduro’s ability to evade U.S. restrictions, said Carrie Filipetti, the State Department’s assistant secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. Filipetti also said more U.S.-European cooperation can help limit the Maduro regime’s access to gold supply chains, which it uses for funding.
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
Export control experts advocated for more effective U.S. controls, saying the U.S. should pursue more multilateral support and may need to rethink its strategy toward China. In a series of short essays published Aug. 13 by the Center for a New American Security, experts and former policymakers dive into how the controls can be more effective, what they should target, and how the controls are viewed by U.S. allies and adversaries.
The Chinese government is placing more of an emphasis on infiltrating U.S. companies and universities to steal export controlled technologies, said John Demers, the U.S. assistant attorney general for national security. China has increasingly turned to its intelligence agencies, such as the Ministry of State Security, to embed officials in U.S. institutions, Demers said.
The U.S. should stop restrictive trade measures against China, which are hindering the phase one trade deal between the two countries, China’s Assistant Commerce Minister Ren Hongbin told told reporters Aug. 13.
The worsening U.S.-China trade relationship is continuing to hurt U.S. companies, which are increasingly losing Chinese customers to European, Japanese and domestic Chinese firms, U.S.-China Business Council officials said. But despite the rising tensions, USCBC President Craig Allen said he is hopeful China will meet its phase one purchase commitments, and said the two sides should begin discussing phase two during an expected meeting between trade officials this week.
The State Department’s 2019 emergency arms sales to Persian Gulf countries (see 1907150033 and 1907300027) did not violate export control laws, but the agency failed to “fully assess risks” the weapons could lead to “civilian casualties” and other “legal concerns,” the Office of Inspector General said in an Aug. 11 report. The report was released days after House and Senate Democratic leaders subpoenaed four State Department officials and accused the agency of stonewalling congressional oversight of the emergency transfers and the firing of former department Inspector General Steve Linick (see 2008030046).
China sanctioned 11 U.S. citizens Aug. 10, including six lawmakers, days after the U.S. designated various Hong Kong officials for implementing Beijing’s so-called national security law (see 2008070039). Along with its sanctions, China criticized the U.S., saying it should “correct” the designations, which included asset freezes of security officials and Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.
The U.S. announced a ban on transactions with the parent companies of TikTok and WeChat, two Chinese-owned apps that President Donald Trump said threaten U.S. national security. In executive orders issued Aug. 6, the U.S. said it will prohibit any transaction with TikTok owner ByteDance and WeChat owner Tencent Holdings, beginning in 45 days.
The U.S. on Aug. 7 sanctioned 11 top Hong Kong officials and police leaders for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy. The designations, which came after Congress passed several bills targeting Beijing’s interference in Hong Kong (see 2007020046 and 1911290012), were the first sanctions imposed under President Donald Trump’s July executive order on Hong Kong normalization (see 2007150019).
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will continue export restrictions on an amended list of personal protective equipment through Dec. 31, the agency said in a notice released Aug. 6. The restrictions, which were scheduled to expire this month, now cover four categories of items, including certain respirators, masks, gloves and surgical gowns -- a decrease from the six categories FEMA has restricted since April. The changes take effect Aug. 10.