The Trump administration will no longer grant exemptions for Iranian oil sanctions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters April 22, a move aimed at sharply reducing Iran’s oil exports and tightening pressure on the country to comply with U.S. demands. The current set of exemption waivers expire in early May, the White House said in a statement.
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.
As the United Kingdom moves closer to its withdrawal date from the European Union in October, traditional “cookie cutter” compliance programs will not be sufficient for companies looking to remain compliant with global sanctions in Brexit’s aftermath, said Tina Carlile, a senior counsel for international trade at BP.
Officials from the State and Commerce departments underscored the importance of open communication and urged industry leaders to submit public comments as the two begin a review of space-related export controls under a Trump administration directive. At the April 17 public meeting at the Department of Commerce, several officials, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, said they were seeking public comments on an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for both State and Commerce, specifically surrounding items listed on the U.S. Munitions List regarding categories IV and XV: launch vehicles and spacecraft, respectively. The notices were issued March 8; comments are due April 22.
The Trump administration is expected to complete a review of the current scope of U.S. export controls on countries subject to arms embargoes, including China, and may make potential regulatory changes by May 10, according to an April 5 blog post from Steptoe & Johnson. The administration’s review stems from a section of the 2018 Export Control Reform Act, which requires a “review relating to countries subject to comprehensive United States arms embargo.” The act specifically requires the Commerce, State and Defense departments, among others, to review export controls on trades with “military end uses and military end users,” according to the post.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer touched on India’s potential retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. and criticized the country’s “significant tariff and nontariff barriers” in the 2019 National Trade Estimate on Foreign Trade Barriers. The 540-page report, released March 29, said India’s tariff barriers “impede imports of U.S. products into India” and was critical of India’s “complex” customs system and failure to “observe transparency requirements.”
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a $1.9 million settlement with a Connecticut-based industrial tool manufacturer and its China-based subsidiary after OFAC said the companies violated U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran, according to a March 27 notice. The U.S. company -- Stanley Black & Decker -- and the Chinese subsidiary -- Jiangsu Guoqiang Tools Co. (GQ) -- attempted to export 23 “shipments of power tools and spare parts” worth more than $3 million to Iran from mid-2013 to the end of 2014, OFAC said.
Sanctions on North Korea have not been working, a United Nations Panel of Experts official told a House subcommittee on March 27, adding that North Korea has made no progress toward denuclearization.
It is unclear if Treasury's most recent North Korean sanctions will be enforced after reports surfaced on March 26 detailing opposing positions among the president, the White House administration and the Treasury Department.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control updated its Specially Designated Nationals List while also issuing an updated guide on “addressing North Korea’s illicit shipping practices,” which includes risk mitigation measures and a summary of penalties for violators, according to a March 21 notice. The changes made to OFAC’s SDN list include the additions of three individuals associated with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an update to the SDN listing for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and the addition of two Chinese entities that violated North Korean sanctions regulations. The two Chinese entities are Dalian Haibo International Freight Co. and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co., according to the notice.
A State Department policy change that lifts statutory debarments on companies that have export privileges still banned is a practical step toward rewarding past violators who aren't yet ready for complete reinstatement, lawyers say. The policy change, announced in a March 4 notice, came as State lifted a debarment against Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Instrument Company (RMI) -- stemming from 2010 violations of the Arms Export Control Act -- without reinstating RMI’s export privileges.