Switzerland has sanctioned four Syrian government ministers who were appointed in August, following the European Union's lead, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said in a Nov. 25 notice. The four are Amr Salem, internal trade and consumer protection; Boutros Al-Hallaq, information; Mohammad Seifeddine, labor and social affairs; and Diala Barakat, state. Switzerland on Nov. 11 delisted former Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi. The EU also delisted Al-Mahmoudi in November (see 2111120009).
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill Nov. 30 to clarify U.S. sanctions policy on Iranian efforts to acquire unmanned drones. The Stop Iranian Drones Act would clarify that sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act apply to the “supply, sale or transfer to or from Iran of unmanned combat aerial vehicles.” The legislation also states that it is the policy of the U.S. to “prevent Iran and Iranian-aligned groups from acquiring unmanned aerial vehicles” that may be used in attacks against the U.S. or its allies. “With this bill, we are ensuring the world knows that the U.S. will use every tool to cut off Iran’s UAV supplies and to punish those who continue to supply Iran with UAVs and parts despite their destructive impact,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who introduced the bill alongside Reps. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.; Joe Wilson, R-S.C.; and Ted Deutch, D-Fla.
While the U.S. and the European Union should continue to collaborate on export controls and investment screening efforts, cooperation on financial sanctions may be more difficult and may not be feasible in some cases, panelists said. Any trade or investment restrictions that rely on financial market leverage will be more difficult for the EU to implement, they said.
The U.S. and the European Union should pursue multilateral export controls, reexamine restrictions on certain munitions-related items and work together to better harmonize decisions on license denials, industry and academia said. The U.S. and EU released a joint summary Dec. 1 of those recommendations, which were made during an Oct. 27 virtual meeting on dual-use export controls (see 2110190020) to discuss areas of priority for the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council.
The United Kingdom's High Court of Justice dismissed a challenge from Egyptian national and sanctioned individual Hany Youssef over whether the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act complies with Articles 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to a Nov. 26 judgment. Articles 6 and 8 guarantee the right of access to a court and protect the right to private and family life, respectively. Youssef was sanctioned by the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Financial Sanctions Committee in 2005. Following the passage of SAMLA in 2018, the Egyptian national sought to have his UN sanctions listing removed via the U.K. government, eventually arguing that the U.K. judicial system's inability to order the U.K. government to quash a UN sanctions listing is in violation of the ECHR.
The European Commission this week released the agenda of its upcoming annual export control forum (see 2111220008), which will feature industry feedback on the European Union's new dual-use regulations and more. The forum will include panels with European Commission officials, export control researchers and EU exporters, who will discuss recent control developments, how to best implement and modernize controls, and challenges posed by emerging technologies, among other topics.
Airbnb has available more than a dozen homes for rent in China’s Xinjiang province on land owned by a Chinese entity that is subject to U.S. sanctions, Axios reported Nov. 30. The entity, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2020 for human rights abuses, including for helping to create a surveillance and detention program for Muslim minority groups (see 2007310028). Information connecting “numerous Airbnb listings” with XPCC-owned land is publicly available, including on Airbnb’s website, the report said.
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European Union officials are seeing a steady uptick in notified transactions under its new foreign direct investment screening regime and expect the trend to continue into next year, said Denis Redonnet, the European Commission’s chief trade enforcement official. As more member states continue to screen FDI, Redonnet said the EC plans to issue a set of common guidelines for reviewing investments and will work closer with the U.S., Japan and others to share best practices.
The United Nations and Switzerland last week added Emraan Ali to their ISIL sanctions list. Ali is suspected of recruiting for the terrorist organization and instructing individuals to commit terrorist acts. The United Kingdom also sanctioned Ali last week (see 2111260002). The U.S. designated Ali in September 2018.