The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week removed from the Specially Designated Nationals List a Turkey-based entity that had originally been targeted for posing a Russia-related secondary sanctions risk. The agency deleted three aliases for the entity known as North Star Shipyard, Kuzey Star Shipyard Denizcilik Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, and Kuzey Star Shipyard Maritime Industry and Trade Inc. OFAC didn't provide more information.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned six people and two entities that it said are helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions and smuggle weapons or that have ties to corruption in Iraq.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned more than 50 people, entities and ships for helping move and sell Iranian oil and liquefied petroleum gas, earning the Iranian government "billions of dollars" for its support of terrorism, the agency said. The designations targeted nearly two dozen shadow fleet vessels and their owners, a China-based crude oil terminal, a Chinese refinery and others.
The U.S. will soon impose a 100% tariff on China, “over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying,” along with new export controls on “any and all critical software,” President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social. Trump said the measures, which could take effect Nov. 1 or sooner, are in response to China’s recent announcement that it will impose new export license requirements on overseas exports if they contain certain levels of Chinese-origin material.
Beijing this week announced a host of new export license requirements for shipments of rare earths, superhard materials and related equipment, including new rules to restrict overseas exports if they contain certain levels of Chinese-origin materials. The country’s Ministry of Commerce also added more than a dozen companies to its Unreliable Entity List for arms sales to Taiwan or for other actions that it said hurt Chinese companies or the country’s “sovereignty” or security.
Matthew Napoli was sworn in Oct. 3 as the deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration, he announced on LinkedIn. The National Nuclear Security Administration oversees certain export controls over nuclear-related items and works to strengthen "nonproliferation and arms control regimes to prevent proliferation, ensure peaceful nuclear uses, and enable verifiable nuclear reductions and limitations on nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons," according to its website.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said late Oct. 7 that he hopes to have the Senate take up his Russia sanctions and tariff bill by month’s end to send a message to next month’s Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Canada.
The Senate voted 51-47 along party lines late Oct. 7 to confirm a group of nominees including David Peters to lead the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Office of Export Enforcement, Thomas DiNanno to be undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, and Jacob Helberg to be undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.
The U.N. Security Council and the U.K. this week amended listings under their sanctions regimes.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's recently issued FAQs for its new Affiliates Rule (see 2509290017) are “helpful in clarifying the scope” of the rule, but they also leave some “burning” questions unanswered, ArentFox said in a client alert.