Russia recently extended its import ban on agricultural goods from countries that impose financial sanctions on Russia, including the U.S., according to a Dec. 21 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service. The ban will remain in effect through the end of 2021 with no changes to the list of covered products, FAS said, which includes various meats, seafood, dairy products and vegetables.
The United Kingdom updated and revised more than 50 open general export licenses to reflect changes to legislation that will take effect when the U.K. officially leaves the European Union Jan. 1, a Dec. 23 press release said. Nine of the licenses were revised as a result of the EU recently updating its dual-use export control list (see 2012160019). The license updates will take effect 11 p.m. U.K. time on Dec. 31.
The United Kingdom’s Export Control Joint Unit on Dec. 24 published a general license authorizing the provision of certain “technical assistance, financial services and funds, and brokering services” for energy-related goods. The general license, which will be available 11 p.m. U.K. time Dec. 31, applies only to energy-related goods not for use in Russia. Activities related to goods for use in Russia require an individual license, the U.K. said.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Dec. 23 completed a review of a final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that will implement more export controls agreed to at the 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement plenary. BIS published the first set of controls from the plenary in October (see 2010020042) but has since experienced rulemaking delays (see 2012080046). OIRA received the rule Dec. 11 (see 2012140009).
The Bureau of Industry and Security this month released the full set of comments it received on its pre-rule for foundational technologies (see 2008260045 and 2010070012), including hundreds of pages of feedback from U.S. and global semiconductor companies urging the agency to refrain from imposing narrow, unilateral export controls. BIS also received comments from some of the world’s largest technology companies, including Google and Microsoft, both of which told BIS that its controls could create unmanageable problems for compliance programs.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Dec. 18 amended a range of sanctions entries to update identifying information. The updates pertain to sanctions entries listed under Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Iran, North Korea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The entries are still subject to asset freezes.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added 36 entries to its Belarus sanctions regime, a Dec. 18 notice said. The additions include government officials, military officials and judges.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 23 extended a general license related to Petroleos de Venezuela and updated a frequently asked question. General License No. 5F, which replaced No. 5E (see 2010060036), authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after July 21, 2021. OFAC also updated a Venezuela sanctions FAQ to reflect the change.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned one person and four entities for involvement in the “fraudulent” presidential elections in Belarus earlier this year and the “violent crackdown” on peaceful pro-democracy protests, OFAC said Dec. 23. The sanctions target Henadz Arkadzievich Kazakevich, a senior government official and chief of the country’s Criminal Police. OFAC also designated the Minsk Special Purpose Police Unit, the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk City Executive Committee and KGB Alpha for suppressing peaceful protests. The agency also sanctioned the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Elections and Holding Republican Referenda for undermining the country’s elections.
The State Department published its fall 2020 regulatory agenda. The agenda includes a new mention of a proposed rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to allow certain employees involved in ITAR activities to work remotely. The rule will revise the ITAR’s definition of a “regular employee” and clarify the “contractual relationships that meet the definition of regular employee.” The State Department sent the rule for interagency review this month (see 2012080011) and aims to issue the rule in February 2021.