Maura Rezendes, former head of the sanctions team at A&O Shearman, has joined Sidley as a partner in the global arbitration, trade and advocacy practice, the firm announced last week. Rezendes' practice centers on "regulatory compliance advice and counseling, transactional support, investigations and enforcement" of economic sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The EU on Oct. 16 issued updated FAQs about its dual-use export control regulations and its import ban on refined petroleum products that contain Russian crude oil. The export control FAQs cover due diligence and compliance obligations for EU exporters, as well as other guidance to help companies comply with the rules. The Russia oil FAQs outline the circumstances under which EU companies need to carry out "enhanced" due diligence to make sure an imported refined oil product doesn't contain Russia-origin oil.
Vietnam adopted new dual-use export control regulations Oct. 10, setting rules for the "management of export, temporary import for re-export, transshipment" and "transit of strategic commercial goods," according to an unofficial translation. The regulations outline export licensing procedures for shipments of controlled items and say exporters moving those goods are "encouraged to develop and implement an Internal Compliance Program," including procedures for reviewing end users and uses, training employees and keeping records.
A bipartisan group of 27 House members, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul, R-Texas, called on President Donald Trump Oct. 17 to impose “forceful new joint sanctions” on Russia and countries that buy its oil, to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two individuals Oct. 17 for their affiliation with Viv Ansanm, a Haitian gang coalition that the agency said “contributes to the violence and instability within Haiti.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 17 removed four Bosnia and Herzegovina nationals from its Specially Designated Nationals List: Jelena Pajic Bastinac, Danijel Dragicevic, Dijana Milankovic and Goran Rakovic. The agency didn’t release more information. The four individuals were sanctioned during the Biden administration for undermining the 1995 peace deal that ended the Bosnian War (see 2501170071 and 2403130032).
A new draft report issued this month from the nonprofit Law Reform Institute examines how frontier AI systems may soon be able to create instructions, designs and code subject to U.S. export controls and whether the U.S. will need to restrict this through new controls on AI developers.
Export license delays within the Bureau of Industry and Security have caused American technology companies to indefinitely postpone or rescind job offers for foreign students and job seekers. The delays also have complicated trips to the U.S. by foreign companies, which sometimes need a license to visit production facilities on American soil to make decisions about ordering U.S. products.
RANCH MIRAGE, Calif. -- The Federal Maritime Commission is increasing its enforcement action against ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs) to promote adherence to licensing and tariff regulations, speakers said at the Pacific Coast Council’s Western Cargo Conference last week.
Deutsche Bundesbank, the national central bank of Germany, recently published guidance to help customers and other operators comply with new snapback sanctions on Iran (see 2509290051). The bank stressed that all provisions of funds to sanctioned Iranian people or entities are blocked, and certain payments designed to send certain goods and technologies to Iran are "generally prohibited, such as certain goods, software and technologies that could contribute to Iran's military and technological strengthening," according to an unofficial translation. Other portions of the guidance outline potential exemptions, reporting requirements related to money transfers, and more.