The U.S. needs to reform the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to allow it to more easily share controlled technologies with the U.K., Australia and other close allies (see 2302170022), experts said last week. If Congress and the administration don’t move quickly to relax ITAR restrictions, the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership will fail, they said, and U.S. military capabilities could fall behind China and other countries.
A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with a European Council decision to extend until March 6, 2024, restrictions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also extended the restriction, the council said March 15.
The U.K. on March 16 updated its guidance relating to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's enforcement and monetary penalties for financial sanctions breaches to include a new section on ownership and control, according to the EU Sanctions blog. The new section states that where OFSI finds a sanctions breach, and an "incorrect assessment of ownership and control of an entity is relevant to the commission of the breach, OFSI will consider the degree and quality of research and due diligence conducted on the ownership and control of that entity," the blog post said.
Canada this month banned imports of aluminum and steel products from Russia, including railway track construction materials, cast iron tubes and pipes, iron and steel sheet piling and more. Canada has imposed a range of sanctions and import restrictions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine, including prohibitions on Russia’s oil, gas and chemical sectors (see 2207110008).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is relaxing its licensing policy for certain satellite exports, a change that could have a “major” impact on satellite industry sales, Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves said. As part of the change, BIS will review export applications for satellites and satellite components intended to go to Missile Technology Control Regime countries on a case-by-case review policy instead of a presumption of denial, Graves said.
A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with two recent European Council sanctions decisions. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland and Liechtenstein also imposed the EU's changes on its terrorism sanctions list, the council said. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway imposed the EU decision amending entries related to Belarus' support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The U.K.'s High Court of Justice on March 14 rejected a challenge from Belarus technology company LLC Synesis to its sanctions listing. Justice Robert Jay held that the U.K.'s standard for a listing -- not a finding of fact but "reasonable grounds to suspect" -- is a well-established test under the law. Decision-makers must consider the information "as a whole" and it "cannot be disaggregated or salami-sliced," Jay said. Synesis was listed for supplying the Belarus state with video surveillance and monitoring systems that could be used to suppress protesters.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., complained this week that Brazil is not in the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, and that APEP, once its negotiations are completed, is unlikely to increase U.S. agricultural exports to member countries. Young, speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the future of U.S.-Brazil relations, said farmers in his state rely on market access-opening trade deals, and said the U.S. should try to convince Brazil to lower its tariff barriers on corn, soybeans and ethanol.
The Financial Action Task Force officially suspended Russia's membership, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network told U.S. banks this month. The FATF -- which establishes international standards for financial institutions to combat terrorist financing, money laundering and weapons proliferation -- noted Russia’s “actions unacceptably run counter to the FATF core principles aiming to promote security, safety, and the integrity of the global financial system,” FinCEN said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three people in Bosnia and Herzegovina for “undermining stability and perpetuating corruption.” The designations target Osman Mehmedagic, director general of the country’s Intelligence Security Agency; Dragan Stankovic, director of the Republika Srpska Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs; and Edin Gacanin, “one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers.” The three “constitute a threat to regional stability, institutional trust, and the aspirations of those seeking democratic governance in the Western Balkans,” Brian Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said March 15.