A Hallandale, Florida, resident was charged on July 2 with smuggling controlled goods into Russia from the U.S. Kirill Gordei, president of Florida-based freight forwarding company Apelsin Logistics, faces three counts -- conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S., smuggling goods from the U.S. and exporting a spectrometer, a controlled item, unlawfully -- DOJ announced. A Belarus citizen and U.S. permanent resident, Gordei faces maximums of five, 10 and 20 years in prison for the charges, respectively.
The Bureau of Industry and Security denied, revoked or didn't take action on about one-third of all license applications involving Chinese companies on the Entity List between 2018 and 2023, according to a snapshot of licensing data released by BIS July 2.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week added six entities to the Entity List for either helping to train China’s military, evading U.S. government end-use checks or shipping export-controlled items to Russia. The agency also updated its Unverified List, adding 13 new parties and removing eight others, including one Russian company that it transferred to the Entity List earlier this year. Both rules took effect July 3.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on July 1 updated its “Don’t Let This Happen to You!” guidance, a 78-page compilation of enforcement cases involving criminal and administrative export violations. Added cases involve violations of U.S. antiboycott regulations, firearms export violations, export violations related to China and Iran, noncompliance with a BIS settlement agreement, and a recent voluntary disclosure submitted by Indiana University involving illegal exports of genetically modified fruit flies (see 2406250022). “Exporters are encouraged to review the publication, which provides useful illustrations of the type of conduct that gets companies and universities in trouble,” BIS said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will add six entities to the Entity List and update its Unverified List to include 13 new parties and remove eight others, the agency said in a pair of rules released July 2 and effective July 3.
Senior U.S. sanctions and export control officials recently warned a group of American CEOs to do more due diligence on their semiconductor shipments, telling them Chinese suppliers are frequently sending their products to Russia.
The Bureau of Industry and Security made its first update to its new boycott Requester List, a list of entities that have asked other companies to boycott goods from certain countries in violation of the Export Administration Regulations. The agency said freight forwarders, banks and other entities involved in international trade transactions should review the list to help them comply with BIS antiboycott rules.
The House Appropriations Committee unveiled an FY 2025 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act bill June 26 that would provide $43 million for the Federal Maritime Commission, about $5.5 million below the Biden administration’s request but up $3 million from the FY 2024 appropriated level.
Russia has been able to sustain its war effort against Ukraine because of its ability to evade Western export controls on key military parts and semiconductors, said Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow with the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She said Russia is importing large amounts of controlled items from China and continuing to indirectly buy from Eastern European nations like Turkey through transshipment tactics and shell companies.
CBP is making progress on rules to eventually mandate electronic export manifest (EEM) for air, vessel and rail cargo and is still on track to deploy a truck EEM portal later this year, the agency said ahead of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee’s June 26 meeting. COAC also issued one recommendation related to accelerated payments for certain drawback entries.