The Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed investment restrictions on SenseTime Group Ltd., a major Chinese technology company, and sanctioned 15 people and 10 other companies for human rights abuses, the agency said Dec. 10. SenseTime, which had prepared to price shares Dec. 10 in its initial public offering in Hong Kong, will now be subject to a U.S. investment ban and added to OFAC’s list of companies with ties to China’s military (see 2106030067).
The European Union hasn’t yet finished rolling out its electronic licensing regime for dual-use exports but hopes to finish the project next year, said Marcello Irlando, an export control official with the European Commission. “Obviously, we are working on it,” Irlando said during the EU's annual export control forum this week. The effort is aimed at simplifying dual-use license applications through a website portal, and has so far been tested in Latvia and Romania, Irlando said. Officials had hoped to add other countries and finalize the effort this year (see 1912240008), but Irlando said countries are still being added. Several EU member states have asked about joining, he said, adding that the commission hopes to deploy the system in Italy, Belgium, Slovenia and potentially others next year.
The European Union extended its sanctions regime on the Congo for another year, until Dec. 12, 2022, the European Council said. The restrictive measures apply to 10 individuals and subject them to an asset freeze and travel ban. Persons and entities in the EU are forbidden from making funds available to listed individuals, either directly or indirectly.
The Environmental Protection Agency released a final rule Dec. 9 setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 45 chemical substances subject to Premanufacture Notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemical substances will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Feb. 8, 2022. The SNURs cover the following:
The United Nations Security Council on Dec. 8 removed two entries from its sanctions list. Designations no longer apply to Mahmud Dhiyab Al-Ahmed and Husam Muhammad Amin Al-Yassin, both Iraqi nationals.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 9 sanctioned seven people and eight entities in Central America, Africa and Europe for corruption. The designations target a multimillion-dollar corruption scheme involving “suspicious procurements” in El Salvador, government corruption in Guatemala and South Sudan, a former warlord in Liberia, a former government official in Ukraine and an embezzlement network in Angola. The U.S. announced the sanctions as part of International Anti-Corruption Day.
The White House announced a new multilateral export control initiative this week to curb the proliferation of dual-use technologies used for human rights abuses (see 2112020073). Under the effort, which the White House called the Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative, the U.S. will work with “like-minded partners” to determine how export controls can better “monitor” and “restrict” sensitive technologies. The effort will help “reduce the potential for countries to abuse new technologies, including surveillance technologies,” President Joe Biden said Dec. 9 at the U.S.’s virtual Summit for Democracy (see 2112070050). Biden said countries attending the summit will convene again next year to show they followed through on their various commitments, including the export control effort.
The European Union should better align its definition of “basic scientific research” with the U.S.'s to create a more level playing field under U.S. and EU export regulations, said Aude Jalabert of the European Semiconductor Industry Association. Jalabert, speaking during the EU’s annual export control forum Dec. 8, said the EU’s definition is “stricter and maybe more narrow than some foreign definitions,” and only exempts “very basic technology and research fields.”
Universities need more guidance from the European Union to comply with its new dual-use export control regulations, said Katleen Janssen of the League of European Research Universities. Janssen, speaking during the EU’s annual export control forum Dec. 8, said researchers especially struggle to meet compliance requirements associated with emerging technologies and research sharing.
The United Kingdom's international trade secretary presented Parliament a revised version of the licensing criteria for strategic export controls, the Department for International Trade said Dec. 8. The licensing criteria, known as the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, will be applied to all license decisions on goods, software and technology subject to export controls. The revisions include an "enhanced" definition of military end-use to boost its effectiveness by permitting the control on a case-by-case basis of non-listed items intended for use by military, paramilitary, security or police forces in a destination subject to an arms embargo. Exemptions will be provided for medical supplies and food, clothing and or other consumer goods generally available to the public. China will also be added to the list of destinations subject to military end-use controls, the DIT said.