The Bureau of Industry and Security is placing new export controls on certain toxins, chemicals and other items that can be used to make bioweapons as part of a final rule to align its restrictions with allies'.
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
The U.S. probably won't immediately lift a broad range of Russia sanctions when Donald Trump enters the White House next month, the former director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control said this week, despite the president-elect’s campaign promises to end the war between Russia and Ukraine during his first day.
A California musical instrument manufacturer will pay $41,591 to settle allegations that it violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, including by shipping instruments and accessories that it knew were destined for the country, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said.
California-based electronics parts manufacturer and supplier Integra Technologies agreed to pay the Bureau of Industry and Security $3.3 million after admitting to violating U.S. export controls on Russia, telling BIS that it didn’t realize the transistors it was shipping needed an export license.
Semiconductor companies should expect more export control rules from the Bureau of Industry and Security before the Trump administration takes office, including possibly new licensing rules and record-keeping requirements for certain chip exports to destinations outside of China, trade lawyer Charles Capito said.
The U.S. government needs a better framework to allow various agencies to coordinate on economic security measures, such as export controls and investment restrictions, Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves said.
Even if a transaction is authorized by a Treasury Department sanctions license or a Commerce Department export license, it still may be subject to prohibitions or notification requirements under Treasury’s new outbound investment rules (see 2410280043), the agency said in new FAQs.
New guidance published by the EU last week outlines steps people and companies should take to make sure their dual-use goods and technology aren’t being sent to Russia, including red flags they should be monitoring as part of their compliance programs. It also offers insight into how the European Commission interprets violations of the bloc’s anti-circumvention laws, with a specific focus on minimum due diligence expectations for businesses and banks.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined C.H. Robinson, one of the world’s largest logistics firms, more than $250,000 after OFAC said its non-U.S. subsidiaries violated sanctions against Iran and Cuba. The five subsidiaries allegedly provided freight brokerage or transportation services for 82 shipments to or from Iran or involving Iranian or Cuban goods, while one of the companies also did business with sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air.
The U.S. and China need to pause their escalating trade restrictions against one another and have a “serious” conversation about how to manage national security risks around technology to prevent a dangerous decoupling of their two economies, the outgoing leader of a major U.S.-China business organization warned this week.