Export controls on their own haven’t historically proven to be very effective in stopping U.S. adversaries from acquiring illegal technologies and components, said Daniel Gerstein, a former export control official at the Department of Homeland Security. Gerstein, speaking during a June 16 Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee meeting, said the U.S. and other countries have “ample information telling us that they have not been particularly effective, even for sanctions regimes.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security on June 16 suspended the export privileges of Belavia Belarusian Airlines, the country’s state-owned national airline, for violating U.S. export controls against Belarus. BIS issued a 180-day temporary denial order for Belavia, which bans it from participating in transactions subject to the Export Administration Regulations.
Angel Del Villar and Luca Scalisi, two California music business executives, were charged with conspiring to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act by doing business with a concert promoter linked to Mexican drug cartels, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced June 14. The two face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced a bill June 13 that would add Taiwan to Country Group A:5 under the Export Administration Regulations. The bill would seek to add Taiwan to the country group specifically “for purposes” of License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization, which authorizes certain exports, reexports and in-country transfers for items that would normally require a license. The bill's full text wasn’t immediately released.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told an audience at the American Association of Exporters and Importers conference June 15 that his discussion draft of a Customs modernization bill elicited some consternation, but that it was shared because he was trying to figure out "how do we get stakeholders in a good place so that we can have a customs modernization package?"
The U.K. made took sanctions actions June 14, amending or correcting entries under its Iran (Nuclear), Russia, and ISIL and al-Qaida sanctions regimes. Under the Iran sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended the entry for Parvis Fatah, an officer of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps. Under the Russia sanctions regime, OFSI amended 39 entries and corrected an additional three, still subjecting all entries to an asset freeze. The 39 entries consist of 23 individuals and 16 entities and include military officials, businesspeople and media figures. The three corrected entries are for Ilya Kiva, former member of the Ukrainian parliament; Maxim Alekseevich Parshin, member of the Donetsk People's Council; and Ooo Volga Group. For the ISIL sanctions list, OFSI amended listing information for Mochammad Achwan, Taha Ibrahim Abdallah Bakr Al Khuwayt, Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman Al-Salbi, Mounir Ben Dhaou Ben Brahim Ben Helal, Muhammad Sholeh Ibrahim and Aris Sumarsono.
The Swiss Federal Council announced June 10 that it will adopt the EU's sixth Russian sanctions package, which includes a ban on Russian oil imports. The sanctions package also designates over 100 Russian and Belarusian individuals and entities, making the Swiss sanctions list identical to the EU's; removes four Russian and Belarusian banks from SWIFT, the interbank payment and messaging system; and expands the export ban on goods that could aid Russia's military.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Stanislav Shevchuk and Alexander Zhuchkovsky, two "key supporters" of the ethnically motivated violent extremist group known as the Russian Imperial Movement, according to a June 15 notice.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed increasing export control collaboration with South Korea in an introductory meeting this week with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin. Raimondo “expressed her interest in continued coordination” with South Korea on the export restrictions, Commerce said, which have been imposed on many areas of Russia’s economy, including its military, technology and luxury goods sectors. Commerce in March added South Korea to the list of countries that have imposed similar export controls against Russia and are excluded from certain license requirements under the U.S.’s Russia-related foreign direct product rules (see 2203040075).
The EU needs to modernize and revamp its regulations surrounding intangible technology transfers, which lack sufficient export control guidance, said Magnus Nordeus, vice chair of Digital Europe, a trade policy group. He also said EU companies want more predictability from U.S. export controls, which can be especially difficult to manage for small- and medium-sized businesses.