China sanctioned U.S. weapons manufacturers Raytheon and Lockheed Martin under its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law in response to the companies selling arms to Taiwan, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Feb. 21, according to the translated transcript of a regular press conference in Beijing. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Feb. 7 the State Department greenlighted a $100 million sale of arms to back Taiwan's use of the Patriot Air Defense System. China implemented its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law in June 2021 and is now using it to counteract the alleged violation of the "one-China principle" and uphold China's "sovereignty and security interests," the spokesperson said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated three individuals, nine entities and one vessel on Feb. 23 as part of its counterterrorism efforts. Abdo Abdullah Dael Amed of Yemen, Chiranjeev Kumar Singh of India, and Konstantinos Stavridis of Greece were added to the Specially Designated Nationals list, along with entities in Turkey, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. The Department of the Treasury said in a press release said that the targets were key components in a "complex international network of intermediaries" helping to finance Houthi rebels in Yemen.
President Joe Biden said in a Feb. 23 statement that the U.S. will impose sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline company and its corporate officers. Nord Stream 2 AG is a project company established for planning, construction and subsequent operation of the pipeline. It is owned by a subsidiary of Gazprom. Biden said the sanctions are "another piece" of America's initial tranche of sanctions and that the administration "will not hesitate to take further steps if Russia continues to escalate."
More sectoral sanctions targeting vulnerable elements of the Russian economy that rely on imports, such as semiconductors and other high-tech products, appear likely, said trade lawyers on a Feb. 23 panel hosted by law firm Thompson Hine. Following President Joe Biden's executive order and statements imposing sanctions on Russia (see 2202220003), they agreed, "the [U.S.] government is holding more in its back pocket" following the first tranche of sanctions announced on Feb. 21 and 22.
The European Commission published a 69-page directive that is meant to be the foundation for European Union legislation requiring that large companies implement due diligence on environmental and social costs in their supply chains. The European Parliament and European Council will vote on the proposal, and if it is adopted, EU countries will have two years to write national laws to implement it.
President Joe Biden on Feb. 24 announced several new sanctions and export control actions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. In remarks at the White House, Biden promised that the sanctions would impose "severe costs on the Russian economy immediately" and are designed to "maximize the long-term impact on Russia." He said four more major Russian banks, including VTB, would be sanctioned along with Russian state-owned enterprises and that additional Russian officials would be added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.
Two new export control rules from the Bureau of Industry and Security on emerging and foundational technologies are weeks away, said Matt Borman, BIS deputy assistant secretary-export administration, during the Feb. 23 meeting of the agency’s Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee.
The Commerce and Treasury Departments announced a raft of new export controls and sanctions measures against Russia in press releases issued Feb. 24 following White House remarks by President Joe Biden. The measures include export control license requirements for a broad swath of the Commerce Control List, and the expansion of sanctions, including to entities in Belarus. The Bureau of Industry and Security also released a final rule on the export control changes, which take effect Feb. 24.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the sanctions on five Russian banks and three oligarchs in a Feb. 22 statement to Parliament as a response to Russia's recognition of what he termed the "supposed independence" of two regions of Ukraine. Russia entered forces into these two regions -- Donetsk and Luhansk -- describing the forces as "peacekeepers." Johnson said the U.K. sanctioned IS Bank, Bank Rossiya, Promsvyazbank, Genbank and Black Sea Bank for Development and Reconstruction. Additionally, oligarchs Gennadiy Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg will be subject to the U.K.'s restrictive measures. "This is the first tranche, the first barrage, of what we are prepared to do: we will hold further sanctions at readiness, to be deployed alongside the United States and the European Union if the situation escalates still further," Johnson said.
The U.K. added one entry to its Somalia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said Feb. 21. Ali Mohamed Rage was added to the list for his position as a spokesperson for the terrorist group Al-Shabaab. He will be subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.