The Bureau of Industry and Security on March 30 added 73 new aircraft to its list of planes that have violated U.S. export controls by flying into Russia, including several aircraft owned by Russian cargo carriers. The list includes new planes owned by AirBridgeCargo, which calls itself Russia's largest cargo airline; Atran, a Moscow-based cargo airline; and other commercial or private aircraft owned by Aeroflot, Alrosa, Azur Air, Nordstar, Nordwind, Pegasfly, Pobeda, Rossiya, Royal Flight, S7 Airlines and Utair.
The U.S. can take several steps to increase its export control pressure against Russia, including expanding certain restrictions to capture a wider range of end-users in Russia beyond the military, said Matt Borman, a senior official at the Bureau of Industry and Security. Borman also stressed that Chinese companies on the Entity List still have much to lose if they aid Russia, including a complete ban from U.S. exports, financing and other services.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 73 new aircraft to its list of planes that have violated U.S. export controls by flying into Russia, including aircraft owned by Russian cargo carriers, the agency said in an emailed news release. The list includes new planes owned by AirBridgeCargo, which calls itself Russia's largest cargo airline, Atran, a Moscow-based cargo airline, and other commercial or private aircraft owned by Aeroflot, Alrosa, Azur Air, Nordstar, Nordwind, Pegasfly, Pobeda, Rossiya, Royal Flight, S7 Airlines and Utair. BIS also removed 12 aircraft that were allowed to return to owners in partner countries and updated tail numbers for other aircraft to “reflect their purported re-registration in Russia.” The agency said it will impose penalties and/or jail time or revoke export privileges for any company or person that violates the Export Administration Regulations by providing “any form of service” to the aircraft without a required BIS license.
President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget proposal, released March 28, includes millions of dollars in additional funding for export control and sanctions work. The proposal includes a $30 million increase in funding for the Bureau of Industry and Security to “implement and enforce export controls.” It also includes an additional $37 million in funding over the previous year's to help the Treasury Department “modernize and update the sanctions process” as outlined in the agency’s 2021 sanctions review (see 2110190044).
The past several weeks at U.S. sanctions agencies have ranked among the busiest times in recent memory, especially at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, where some employees are working nearly nonstop to implement and enforce new sanctions against Russia, former officials said in interviews. While some former officials said the extra work could shift minor projects to the side, lawyers are concerned it could also delay more pressing agency priorities, including licensing requests.
U.S. companies that sell defense products or services to foreign countries or entities must report all offsets agreements greater than $5 million to the Bureau of Industry and Security by June 15, the agency said in a notice. Companies also must report information on offsets transactions completed “in performance of existing offsets commitments for which offsets credit” of $250,000 or more “has been claimed from the foreign representative,” the notice said. Commerce is asking for reports of offsets transactions that took place during calendar year 2021.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on an information collection related to its Simplified Network Application Process - Redesign, which allows users to submit export license applications, commodity classification requests and other applications to BIS via the internet, the agency said in a notice. Comments are due May 24.
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a proposed rule for interagency review that could place new export controls on certain “marine toxins.” The rule, sent for review March 21, proposes changes to the Commerce Control List to reflect revisions recently made at the Australia Group, a multilateral export control group for chemical and biological weapons. If approved by the interagency, the proposed rule will request public comments on the control changes.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on March 17 issued three frequently asked questions to address matters surrounding the savings clauses in export control rules for Russia and Belarus (see 2202240069 and 2203020072). The FAQs clarify which activities and transactions are captured by the clauses, provide details around the effective dates of the clauses, and clarify whether the clauses would cover an order when the ultimate consignee is a warehouse or distributor.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week released a list of commercial and private aircraft that have violated U.S. export controls by flying into Russia and which require a license for “any form of service.” The agency said it will impose penalties, jail time or loss of export privileges for any company or person that violates the Export Administration Regulations by providing “any form of service” to the aircraft without a required BIS license.