Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the State Department’s decision to waive sanctions against the company behind Nord Stream 2 (see 2105200055), telling a House committee that the sanctions would’ve done little to stop the nearly completed pipeline from being finished and would've only damaged U.S. relations with Germany. But Blinken also said the agency may be willing to rescind the waiver and impose the sanctions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule to reflect the United Arab Emirates formally ending its participation in the Arab League Boycott of Israel. Under the rule, effective June 8, certain “requests for information, action or agreement from the UAE” will not be “presumed to be boycott-related” -- and therefore not restricted or reportable under the Export Administration Regulations -- if they were made before Aug. 16, 2020, BIS said.
Companies are increasingly straying from foreign direct investment, partly due to challenges faced by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a rise in global investment screening, researchers said in a June 3 report. FDI requirements and thresholds have specifically become more “far-reaching” over the past five years, the report said, and businesses continue to face mounting regulatory risks, which has chilled investment in a range of sectors. “Once a hallmark of globalisation” the report said, “FDI has been in trouble for some time.”
President Joe Biden issued a new executive order expanding a Trump-era policy that banned investments in Chinese military companies (see 2105190009). The order, issued June 3, includes an initial list of 59 entities and expands the scope of the restrictions to cover companies operating in China’s surveillance technology sector, which the White House said produces technologies to commit human rights violations against Muslim minorities.
A congressional commission said the Commerce Department has “failed” to carry out its export control responsibilities over emerging and foundational technologies, which is hindering the work of other government bodies and allowing some sensitive dual-use technologies to be freely exported from the U.S. The commission said Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which is in charge of the export control effort, has taken “limited action to strengthen or introduce new controls” since its 2018 congressional mandate and should look to other agencies to help with the process.
Trade and business relations between the European Union and China will likely grow more challenging in the wake of the EU’s decision to pause ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (see 2105240023), a European policy expert said. Even so, China will likely push the EU to move forward on the deal, another expert said, as it doesn’t want a series of escalating sanctions by the two sides to continue.
The U.S. and Iran will likely come to an agreement on the Iran nuclear deal as early as this summer, which could lift a range of economic sanctions on Iran, two foreign policy experts said. Although talks between the two sides have progressed over the past several weeks, the experts say it remains unclear how the sanctions will be lifted and whether a more comprehensive, revised deal will follow.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added eight entities to the Entity List for their involvement in nuclear proliferation activities and issued several other revisions, one correction and one removal from the Entity List and Military End User List. The eight entities, located in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, include laboratory equipment providers, engineering companies and electronics makers. They will face a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and BIS will impose a license review policy of presumption of denial. No license exceptions will be available. The changes take effect June 1.
Export controls over 3D-printed guns were moved from the Commerce Department to the State Department following a court’s decision this week to officially waive a preliminary injunction that had blocked the transfer (see 2105030021).
The Treasury Department’s upcoming budget proposal will ask for more money to address sanctions evasion practices, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a House Appropriations subcommittee May 27. Yellen said the agency is focused on limiting evasion tactics and is hoping to collaborate more with allies to address those issues and increase the overall effectiveness of economic sanctions.