The U.S. should impose sanctions and limit weapons shipments from countries and companies that contribute to terrorism and conflict in Libya, panelists said at a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on May 15. The Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism sought testimony on "The Conflict in Libya."
The Trump administration's decision to examine emerging technologies as candidates for export controls could cost U.S. businesses tens of billions of dollars and threaten thousands of jobs, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a new report. If substantial export controls are enacted, the report warns, firms “could lose $14.1 [billion] to $56.3 billion in export sales over five years, with missed export opportunities threatening from 18,000 to 74,000 jobs.”
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is issuing a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions with Huawei and 68 of its affiliates without new licensing requirements set by their recent addition to the Entity List. The general license is scheduled for publication in the May 22 Federal Register, and will remain in effect from May 20 through Aug. 19.
In the May 17 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
New U.S. sanctions on China in response to the country’s oppression of Uighurs could be effective, but there’s a risk of retaliation, experts said while speaking at a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing. Uighurs are an officially recognized ethnic minority group in China and other parts of Asia, descended from ancient tribes in Mongolia.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned five people and one entity under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act for Russia-related human rights violations, Treasury said in a May 16 notice. The sanctioned people include Russian government investigators and members of the Chechen Republic’s Terek Special Rapid Response Team.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 11 people and 10 entities in Mexico related to allegations of corruption, money laundering, drug trafficking and killings, Treasury said in a May 17 notice. The sanctions include the designation of a Mexican magistrate judge and former Mexican governor, Isidro Avelar Gutierrez, under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
The European Union extended sanctions against Syria for one year, until June 1, 2020, the EU Council said in a May 17 notice. The sanctions include an oil embargo, restrictions on “certain investments," a freeze on Syrian central bank assets "held in the EU" and export restrictions on "equipment and technology" that could be used for “internal repression” and the “monitoring or interception” of internet or phone communications, the notice said. The EU Council also removed sanctions on five deceased people and two entities, one because it “ceased to exist” and another because “there were no longer grounds to keep it under restrictive measures,” the notice said. The move came about a week after the Trump administration announced it is extending U.S. sanctions against Syria (see 1905100018).
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a bill, the China Technology Transfer Control Act of 2019, on May 14 that would increase controls on “national interest technology” exports to China and allow the U.S. to sanction people or entities that violate the controls. In a press release, Hawley’s office said the bill “places all ‘core technologies’ from China’s ‘Made in China 2025’ strategy on the Department of Commerce’s Export Control List.” The core technologies include 15 products, the release said, such as “artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors, advanced construction equipment and lithium battery manufacturing.” “For too long, China has exploited American innovation to undermine our values and threaten our security,” Hawley said in a statement. “This legislation is an important step toward keeping American technology out of the hands of the Chinese government and its military.”
The United Nations Security Council sanctioned one entity and removed five other entities from its sanctions lists, the U.N. said May 14. The U.N. added the “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant -- Khorasan” to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions list while removing Nessim ben Mohamed al-Cherif ben Mohamed Saleh al-Saadi from the same list, according to press releases. The U.N. also removed sanctions on four separate entities: the Directorate General of Baghdad Electricity Distribution and the Iraq-based Idrisi Centre for Engineering Consultancy (ICEC), National Centre for Engineering and Architectural Consultancy and State Enterprise for Fertilizer Industries.