The EU announced details of its 10th sanctions package on Russia over the war in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the proposed restrictions include export bans on over $11.7 billion worth of critical technology and industrial goods, including electronics, specialized vehicles, machine parts, spare parts for trucks and jet engines, and goods used in the construction industry such as antennas or cranes. Von der Leyen said the goal is to have the new sanctions implemented by Feb. 24.
China’s commerce ministry this week announced penalties and trade restrictions on U.S. defense companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon over their arms sales to Taiwan. The measure placed Lockheed and Raytheon Missiles and Defense, a Raytheon subsidiary, on China’s so-called Unreliable Entity List and prohibits them from “engaging in import and export activities related to China,” according to an unofficial translation of a Feb. 16 ministry notice.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on the “effectiveness” of its licensing procedures for exports and reexports of agricultural goods to Cuba, the agency said in a notice this week. BIS will use the comments as it prepares a biennial report to the Congress on its Cuba-related export licensing, per the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, which requires BIS to report on licensing procedures for the period Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2022. The report must include information on the number and types of licenses applied for, the number and types of licenses approved, the average amount of time elapsed from the license’s filing date until its approval date, and a “description of comments received from interested parties,” BIS said. Public comments, due March 20, should be “as specific as possible,” the agency said.
House Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said the Biden administration is leaving an opportunity on the table by not continuing negotiations for a comprehensive trade agreement with the U.K.
The Commerce Department and DOJ this week launched a new task force to “target illicit actors” and protect critical technologies from being acquired by “nation-state adversaries.” The Disruptive Technology Strike Force -- which will be led by Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and DOJ’s National Security Division -- will focus on investigating and prosecuting criminal export violations, improving “administrative enforcement” of export controls, coordinating law enforcement actions and “disruption strategies” with U.S. allies and more.
Dutch chip company ASML may have violated export controls stemming from a data theft incident involving a now former employee, the company said in its 2022 annual report released this week. The semiconductor company also said it’s expecting the Netherlands to impose new export restrictions on advanced chip-related items to China but doesn’t expect the measures to take effect for “many months.”
China said it would take "countermeasures" against U.S. entities in response to sanctions on Chinese companies over the entry of a Chinese surveillance balloon into U.S. airspace. The U.S. sanctioned six Chinese entities in response to the balloon, adding them to the Entity List (see 2302100072). A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a regular press conference in Beijing Feb. 15 that it will take retaliatory measures "against relevant US entities that have undermined China’s sovereignty and security to firmly safeguard China’s sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests."
The Bureau of Industry and Security suspended the export privileges of three people this week, including one person who tried to ship controlled items to an entity on the Entity List.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published previously issued general licenses under its Venezuela sanctions regime. The full text of each license appears in the notice.
The U.S., the EU and others can take steps to improve how they administer export controls, deliver guidance to industry and more efficiently target dangerous end users, experts said this week. One expert specifically called on the U.S. to revise the Entity List, which should better isolate the worst export control offenders.