The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security added 12 foreign entities or persons to BIS’s Entity List, according to a May 13 notice, including several entities in China. BIS said the additions include four entities with locations in China and Hong Kong, along with two other entities in China and one Pakistani entity and five entities or individuals in the United Arab Emirates. Each is now subject to specific license requirements “for the export, reexport, and/or in-country transfer of controlled items,” BIS said. The 12 "have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests," the agency said in a separate notice.
There seems to be a growing interest in ways to evade U.S. sanctions and export controls, several experts said while speaking at a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on May 9. One panelist specifically pointed to China, which he said he expects to begin smuggling oil from Iran to avoid U.S. sanctions.
The Trump administration is extending by one year the national emergency that had been declared 15 years ago due to the actions of the government in Syria, according to a May 8 press release from the White House. Sanctions will continue against certain Syrian people as will the ban of certain exports and re-exports to Syria. The notice said "the actions of the Government of Syria in supporting terrorism, maintaining its then-existing occupation of Lebanon, pursuing weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, and undermining United States and international efforts with respect to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq" are a threat to U.S. national security. The emergency declaration had been in place since a 2004 executive order, and was set to expire May 11, according to the press release. "The United States will consider changes in the composition, policies, and actions of the Government of Syria in determining whether to continue or terminate this national emergency in the future,” Trump said in a statement.
The Trump administration is extending the national emergency in response to "the situation in and in relation to the Central African Republic, which has been marked by a breakdown of law and order, intersectarian tension, widespread violence and atrocities," for one year beyond the May 12 expiration date, the White House said in a May 8 press release. U.S.-imposed sanctions on the country will remain in place.
The European Union said it would “reject any ultimatums” imposed by Iran after the country announced May 8 it is suspending some of its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, effective immediately (see 1905080058). In a May 9 statement, the EU said it has “great concern” over Iran’s demands and “strongly” urged it to “refrain from any escalatory steps,” but also said it disapproves of U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran following U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two companies and two ships for operating in the Venezuelan oil sector, Treasury said in a May 10 press release. As part of the announcement, it said that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “determined that persons operating in the defense and security sector of the Venezuelan economy” may be sanctioned.
During a House hearing on China’s influence in Europe, several experts said the U.S. needs to more strongly cooperate with Europe against Chinese trading practices and economic influences, including on export controls and information sharing.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry updated its “end-user list” to provide exporters information on “foreign entities” that may be involved in weapons proliferation. The update last month added five entities to the list “for which concern cannot be eliminated regarding involvement” in weapons of mass destruction, the ministry said in a notice. Exporters must submit applications for goods that may be used for the development of weapons of mass destruction “even if they are not subject to export restrictions under international agreements,” the notice said.
The U.S. seized a North Korean cargo ship for violating U.S. and international sanctions after it transported coal and “heavy machinery” and used U.S. banks for various transactions, the Department of Justice said in a May 9 press release.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control removed sanctions on a former Venezuelan government official after he “broke ranks” with the Nicolas Maduro regime last week, OFAC said in a May 7 notice. OFAC said Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, the director general of Venezuela’s National Intelligence Service, was sanctioned in February as a member of the Venezuelan government. All of Cristopher’s property is now unblocked and transactions with him are allowed, the notice said.