The European Union extended by one year sanctions against people responsible for the misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds, the European Council said March 4. Now expiring March 6, 2022, the sanctions continue to impose asset freezes on seven people and also extend sanctions against one person until Sept. 6, 2021. The sanctions were last extended in March 2020 until March 6 this year.
CBP is trying to reduce the amount of time it spends searching through paper documents for automobile exports, Jim Swanson, director of the Cargo and Security Controls Division, for Cargo and Conveyance Security, CBP Office of Field Operations, said March 3 during an Airforwarders Association virtual event. CBP is testing use of the Document Image System for providing used-car titles within the Automated Export System, Swanson said. “The next phase of that, and one we are very close to and hopefully we'll start to see rollout this year, is an electronic process” that allows CBP to take information from AES and do a full title search, he said. “Then, and only then, if there are issues with that would we ask for additional information,” he said. The requirement to provide information within 72 hours of departure isn't going away, but this would allow the process to move along faster, he said. Swanson said that about 85% of all export resources CBP uses are involved in looking at used motor vehicle titles. CBP said it is planning to update AES to allow for integrated title searches this fall (see 2103030027).
The U.S. extended national emergencies authorizing sanctions against Zimbabwe, Venezuela and “with respect to” Russia's activity in Ukraine, the White House said March 3. The White House said Zimbabwe's president “hasn’t made the necessary political and economic reforms” that would warrant rescinding U.S. sanctions. It also said the situations in Ukraine and Venezuela “continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to” U.S. national security.
The United Nations special envoy for Myanmar urged members to “take very strong measures” against Myanmar to counter the violence overtaking the country after last month’s military coup, a U.N. news release said March 3. Christine Schraner Burgener said she warned Myanmar’s military that “strong” sanctions will likely be imposed, but the military told her “we are used to sanctions and we survived the sanctions time in the past.” The U.S. and the United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on the country (see 2102110020 and 2102260013). The European Union is preparing sanctions (see 2102100012).
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued new restrictions on exports to Myanmar and added four entities to the Entity List in response to the country’s military-led coup last month (see 2102110020). The restrictions, which take effect March 8, increase controls on certain “sensitive” items, remove certain license exceptions, impose a more strict licensing policy and subject Myanmar to BIS’s military end-use and end-user restrictions (see 2012220027), according to a final rule released March 4.
The Congressional Research Service issued a March 1 report on Iran’s nuclear program and U.S. snapback sanctions imposed under President Donald Trump's administration. The report details the dispute between European signatories of the Iran nuclear deal and the Trump administration over whether the U.S. had the authority to impose snapback sanctions (see 2008210009). It also lays out the impact that snapback sanctions could have on Iran and covers the conditions Iran must meet to remain in compliance with the deal. President Joe Biden's administration said it wants to rejoin the deal or craft a new one, and is willing to meet with Iran, but Iran declined that offer (see 2103010053).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Mexican national Juan Manuel Abouzaid El Bayeh for helping to move drug shipments and launder money for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, a March 3 news release said. The agency labeled Abouzaid El Bayeh a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker. The designation was OFAC’s 12th action against the cartel, which was sanctioned in 2015.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on March 2 completed its review of a final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that will implement sanctions and export restrictions against Myanmar (see 2102170005). OIRA received the rule Feb. 23 (see 2102240007).
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued guidance March 2 on how it will implement the increased export restrictions against Russia for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny (see 2103020067). DDTC said it will amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to add Russia to the list of countries subject to a policy of denial for defense exports and services. That restriction will include certain exceptions, including a case-by-case review for exports that support “government space cooperation” and a six-month exception for exports that support “commercial space launches,” which will also be subject to a case-by-case review. DDTC said other exemptions will be provided for exports to Russia “when in furtherance of government space cooperation.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security outlined its licensing policy for the 14 additions to the Entity List announced earlier this week (see 2103020067) and made several corrections to the list, a final rule released March 2 said. BIS will impose a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations that are destined to the 14 Russian, German and Swiss entities, the rule said. The license requirement will also apply if any of the entities acts as a “purchaser, intermediate consignee, ultimate consignee, or end-user,” BIS added, and no license exceptions will be available. All exports and reexports that now require a license as a result of the Entity List additions but were aboard a carrier to a port as of March 4 may proceed to their destinations under the previous eligibility, BIS said.