The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a final rule this week to officially change the heading of the Syria-Related Sanctions Regulations to the "Promoting Accountability for Assad and Regional Stabilization Sanctions Regulations." It also revises those regulations to reflect the administration's easing of certain Syria-related sanctions earlier this year (see 2507010012 and 2506300055). The changes take effect Sept. 25.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is working to issue a final rule for a set of regulations that in January placed new export controls on certain lab equipment that can be misused by "countries of concern" for military purposes (see 2501150020). The rulemaking, sent for interagency review Sept. 23, will finalize those revisions to "address the accelerating development and deployment of advanced biotechnology tools contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests," BIS said.
The Trump administration’s easing of export restrictions for certain unmanned drones was an overdue decision that could allow American companies to better compete in foreign markets and boost U.S. cooperation with allies, a defense policy researcher and former Pentagon official said Wednesday. During a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar, they said the announcement highlights the shortcomings of the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), arguing that it and other U.S. arms control policies have failed to keep up with the pace of technology.
The U.K. this week published a new "starter guide" for its sanctions programs and laws, including information on who must comply with sanctions; sanctions lists and sanctions screening; ownership and control standards; exceptions and licensing; sanctions circumvention; carrying out due diligence; and more.
Taiwan is probing the business credentials of a Taiwanese company added to the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List earlier this month (see 2509120077), Taiwan's International Trade Administration said, according to an unofficial translation. The company, Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics, is a "representative office of a Hong Kong company in Taiwan," and an "investigation revealed that the representative office does not possess import and export qualifications," Taiwan said. "The Ministry of Economic Affairs will further verify whether the representative office's actual operations are consistent with its original application."
While meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly High Level Week in New York City Sept. 22, Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., “emphasized the need for Congress to pass” her bill to end a U.S. economic sanctions law targeting Syria, a Shaheen press release said.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a State Department reauthorization bill Sept. 18 that would consolidate the State Department’s sanctions activities into a new Sanctions Policy Bureau led by an assistant secretary for sanctions policy (see 2509110039).
The U.K. on Sept. 23 amended the entry of Yuri Denisov on its Russia sanctions list. Denisov's new listing says the individual "has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the" Russian government by acting as a director of the Public Joint Stock Company Moscow Exchange Group, which operates in the financial services sector.
The State Department labeled Barrio 18, a Latin American rival gang to MS-13, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and Foreign Terrorist Organization, the agency said in notices released Sept. 23. The Office of Foreign Assets Control added Barrio 18 to its Specially Designated Nationals List to reflect the move.
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