Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced a bill Jan. 14 that would require entities on the Defense Department’s 1260H List of Chinese military companies to also be included on the Treasury Department’s Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies (NS-CMIC) List to bar them from accessing U.S. capital markets.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Iranian security officials involved in the country's violent crackdown on protesters, and it also designated people and entities that it said help launder revenue from Iranian petroleum and petrochemical sales as part of a “shadow banking” network of sanctioned Iranian financial institutions.
Citing economic and national security concerns, a panel of experts called on lawmakers Jan. 14 to overturn the Trump administration’s decision last month to allow Nvidia to export its H200 AI chips to China (see 2512080059).
The State Department is seeking comments on an information collection involving commodity jurisdiction determinations, according to a notice for publication in the Jan. 15 Federal Register. The collection says exporters may request a written determination from the agency stating whether a particular article or defense service is controlled by the U.S. Munitions List. Comments on the collection are due by March 16.
Jinchao Wei, a former sailor with the U.S. Navy who was found guilty in August of illegally exporting military information and technical data to China (see 2508210039), was sentenced this week to 200 months in prison. Wei was convicted on several counts, including espionage and illegally exporting technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Jan. 14 that he welcomes the terrorism-related sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on three Muslim Brotherhood branches this week (see 2601130017). “These steps are critical to the national security of the United States and to protecting Americans from the jihadist terrorism promoted by the Brotherhood,” Cruz said in a statement. He reintroduced a bill in July that could lead to terrorist designations for the Muslim Brotherhood and all its branches (see 2507170001).
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission published a primer this week on China's relationship with Venezuela, including details about China's purchases of Venezuelan oil despite U.S. sanctions. The commission said China has become the "primary destination" for sanctioned Venezuelan oil, and Beijing uses sanctions evasion measures "similar to those it uses to import oil from other sanctioned countries like Iran and Russia, including transshipment, bartering, and 'shadow fleet' tankers with opaque ownership." Although the U.S. has sanctioned Chinese entities for cyber and surveillance operations in Venezuela, the report said designations against Chinese parties under Venezuela-related sanctions programs "had been exceedingly rare" until December, when the Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted four Chinese companies and their vessels for operating in Venezuela's oil sector (see 2512310074).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week extended a Russia-related general license that authorizes certain transactions for the negotiation of and entry into contingent contracts for the sale of Lukoil International GmbH -- the international business of Russian energy firm Lukoil -- and related maintenance activities. General License 131B, which replaces 131A, now expires at 12:01 a.m. ET Feb. 28. The license was scheduled to expire Jan. 17.
The U.S. is planning to impose a 25% tariff on imports of certain advanced chips that are then exported elsewhere, the White House said Jan. 14.
Kevin Kurland, who left the Bureau of Industry and Security late last year after nearly three decades with the agency (see 2511190045), has joined Beacon Global Strategies as a senior adviser. Kurland most recently served as the acting BIS principal deputy assistant secretary for strategic trade and technology security.