President Barack Obama intends to remove Russia as a Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) beneficiary because the country can no longer be considered a developing economy, according to a letter submitted to Congress on May 7. The GSP program expired on July 31, 2013, and lawmakers continue to struggle to find a method of advancing the legislation (see 14032429). Obama did not mention the removal as a punitive measure.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
The Obama administration should continue to impose “narrow” sanctions on individuals and firms in Russian financial, energy and defense sectors, said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., in opening remarks at a May 6 hearing on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. The administration should specifically target energy exporting companies Rosneft and Gazprom, who have manipulated Ukrainian energy price and supply, and weapons exporter Rosoboron, added Menendez.
The Commerce Department will soon begin requiring antidumping duty cash deposits on imports of grain oriented electrical steel (GOES) from China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Poland and Russia, it said in a fact sheet May 5. In its preliminary determination, the agency found AD duty rates of 159.21% for China; 10.35%-11.45% for the Czech Republic; 133.7%-241.91% for Germany; 93.36%-172.3% for Japan; 5.34% for South Korea; 78.1%-99.51% for Poland; and 68.98%-119.88% for Russia.
The Obama administration will not set "artificial deadlines" in dealing with the conflict in Ukraine, but will continue to monitor the situation and new sanctions remain possible, said White House spokesman Jay Carney during a May 5 press conference. "We’ve always made clear that the tools available to the president allow him and this administration to escalate the costs if activity by Russia aimed at destabilizing Ukraine escalates," said Carney. "And I wouldn’t -- nor am I saying that sanctions are coming on any particular day or will come on any particular day if Russia does this particular action."
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is amending the Export Administration Regulations to place 14 entities on the Entity List. The entities will be classified under Cyprus, Luxemburg and Russia destinations. The Entity List is comprised of individuals and entities that the U.S. determines pose a risk to national security. The entities are as follows:
On April 25 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on April 28 expanded export restrictions for high-technology dual-use items subject to the Export Administration Regulations and destined for Russia, in response to ongoing crisis in eastern and southern Ukraine. President Barack Obama said on April 28 the U.S. shouldn’t allow for possible military exports to the country “in this kind of climate.” The Russian government did not honor its commitment to de-escalate the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, said the White House in a press release.
Goods originating in Crimea should continue to be marked as originating in Ukraine, despite claims from Russia that the disputed peninsula is now part of Russia, said CBP in a CSMS message. The U.S. has said it disapproves of Russia's efforts to take control of Crimea and considers a Crimean vote to rejoin Russia to be illegitimate. "Growth, production, or manufacture of a good in Crimea is growth, production, or manufacture of a good in Ukraine," it said.
The European Parliament published on April 22 its adoption of unilateral measures to eliminate or reduce tariffs on products originating in Ukraine. The measures are in accordance with the 2012 Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement. The European Parliament determined it is necessary to expedite the entry into force of trade preferences in the agreement, in light of the recent security, political and economic destabilization in Ukraine, according to the European Parliament Official Journal.
On April 18 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports: