A new rule change by the Bureau of Industry and Security will subject a broader range of chemical mixtures to declaration requirements, including for export or import. The revisions, outlined in a final rule that takes effect July 3, lowers the concentration threshold level at which mixtures containing certain controlled chemicals are subject to the declaration requirements. The change brings the U.S. Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations “into further alignment” with guidelines adopted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 2009, which established the lower concentration threshold limit for certain chemicals.
The Netherlands last week published new export controls over certain advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment in a step aimed at bringing Dutch policies more closely in line with strict U.S. export licensing requirements against China. The measures, previewed by the government in March (see 2303090032), take effect Sept. 1 and will require exporters to apply for and receive an authorization before shipping a “number of very specific technologies for the development and manufacture of advanced semiconductors.”
The EU should impose an embargo on Russian liquefied natural gas imports to achieve its pursuit of banning all Russian fossil-fuel shipments into the bloc by 2027, Brussels-based think tank Bruegel said this week. The think tank said the EU "can manage" without the LNG imports, adding that the impact would not be comparable to the tremors felt from the wind down of Russian pipeline gas imports.
A new law announced by the U.K. June 29 could prevent lawyers from providing legal services to Russian companies in "certain business deals -- thwarting the nation from benefitting economically from" British legal services, the Ministry of Justice said. The rules are meant to build on existing restrictions imposed on Russia covering the provision of legal services by also extending these restrictions "to facilitate certain commercial activity which benefits the country." The legislation could also block "legal professionals" from advising international companies on lending decisions to Russian companies, the ministry said.
Export controls need to be improved following reports that the Chinese spy balloon shot down by the U.S. earlier this year contained American technology, Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said in an emailed statement June 29. The lawmakers cited a Wall Street Journal report that said the spy balloon was “loaded with American-made equipment” that allowed it to collect information.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week deleted 15 entries and updated three others on its Specially Designated Nationals List. The deleted entries were sanctioned for counter-narcotics reasons and for ties to Venezuela. The agency didn’t release more information.
The Biden administration is still considering a range of “very technical questions” on its upcoming outbound investment restrictions, which is partly why the rules haven’t yet been released, said Mike Pyle, deputy national security adviser for international economics. He said officials are still working through how to define the types of technologies that would be captured by the program and the types of investments that would be screened, and are still speaking with industry about how to best scope the restrictions.
New potential U.S. export controls on a broader set of artificial intelligence-related chips could have massive impacts on the chip industry and American chipmaker Nvidia, said Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer. Kress, speaking about reports that the Biden administration could tighten existing chip export restrictions as it prepares to finalize its China chip export control rule from October, said new license requirements could deal permanent damage to American chip industry sales in China.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week removed a Russian tour company from a temporary denial order imposed against Nordwind Airlines, a Russian airline that BIS said illegally operates aircraft on flights into and out of the country.
The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on June 26 added new “licensing grounds” to its Belarus sanctions guidance. The guidance includes a table listing all activities that may be authorized by a license, ranging from import and export transactions; technical assistance services; brokering services to financial services; and more.