The U.S. and EU should use the upcoming Trade and Technology Council meeting to further harmonize their export controls and strengthen cooperation in semiconductor supply chains, the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU) said in May 10 recommendations. While government officials have said the two sides have already surpassed some of the TTC’s short-term goals (see 2204130045), the chamber said it can still make progress outlining “clear deliverables” and better defining the scope of the council’s working groups.
The Transportation and Related Equipment Technical Advisory Committee is considering asking the Bureau of Industry and Security for more Russian export control guidance and is hoping to help address the agency's backlog of military end-user license applications, said committee Chair Ari Novis, chief global trade officer for Pratt & Whitney.
The Commerce Department is working with allies to create a new multilateral export control enforcement coordination mechanism to better tighten gaps in global export control regimes, said Matthew Axelrod, the agency’s lead export enforcement official. Axelrod said more enforcement cooperation can strengthen the effectiveness of the controls, particularly for Russia-related restrictions.
The U.K. amended 88 entries under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a May 9 notice. The updates state the reasons for the individuals' and entities' listing on the sanctions regime. Listed individuals include media figures, prominent businesspeople, regime officials and politicians.
The EU plans to drop the piece of its sixth sanctions package on Russia that would have banned EU-owned vessels shipping Russian oil to third countries, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported May 9. The proposed ban, part of the sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, was nixed following pushback from certain EU member states, including Greece, whose economy leans heavily on shipping. Further, a lack of a coherent position from the G-7 nations was at the heart of the proposal being dropped.
President Joe Biden extended by one year national emergencies that authorize certain sanctions related to Yemen, the Central African Republic, Iraq and Syria, the White House said May 9. Respectively, the extensions are through May 16, May 12, May 22 and May 11, 2023.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned five “financial facilitators” for the Islamic State group of Iraq and Syria. The people operate across Indonesia, Syria and Turkey and help “extremists” travel to Syria and other regions where ISIS operates, OFAC said. The facilitator network also helps the group conduct financial transfers. The agency designated Dwi Dahlia Susanti, Rudi Heryadi, Ari Kardian, Muhammad Dandi Adhiguna and Dini Ramadhani.
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The U.S. needs to be careful when imposing export controls on emerging technologies to avoid hurting U.S. research and innovation, said Robert Blair, Microsoft's senior director-5G and external affairs. Blair, speaking during a May 10 event hosted by the Task Force on American Innovation, said industry wants to help the administration stem the proliferation of technologies to bad actors while also avoiding hurting the competitiveness of U.S. companies, specifically those working on quantum technologies.
The Treasury Department has enough evidence to show that its Russia sanctions are being violated and needs to move faster to impose secondary sanctions, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said. He said he and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., plan to push the agency to act.