The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined an Oklahoma steel manufacturer about $435,000 for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, OFAC said April 19. Alliance Steel committed 61 sanctions violation by maintaining a “business relationship” with an Iranian company for five years, OFAC said.

Congress should codify regulations from a November executive order that imposed investment bans on certain Chinese companies with ties to the military, said Matt Pottinger, a former deputy national security adviser during the Trump administration. He also said the U.S. should take a stricter stance on export licenses involving semiconductor shipments as China tries to become the world’s “only” supplier of advanced technologies.

The U.S. will likely continue to update the regulations for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which has created some complications for industry, trade lawyers told the American Bar Association April 15. The recently revised regulations have also severely reduced incoming Chinese investments, which could have long-term implications, one lawyer said.

Kevin Wolf, a former top Bureau of Industry and Security official, presented his strategy for the future of U.S. export controls to address emerging security challenges during an April 15 Akin Gump webinar. He also briefly assessed U.S. export control policy during the Donald Trump administration and continued to say he isn’t behind the rumors that he’s being considered for the BIS undersecretary role see 2104070026).

President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order authorizing new sanctions against Russia, allowing the U.S. to designate people and companies operating in Russia’s defense and technology sectors or involved in attempts to influence foreign elections. The order, announced April 15, also authorizes sanctions against a range of Russian government officials and their associates as well as people and companies involved in Russian corruption, actions to “undermine democratic processes,” and human rights violations and transactions designed to circumvent U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. should quickly pass a bipartisan bill that would increase U.S. investment in technology research and high-tech manufacturing, technology experts and academic leaders told the Senate April 14. Some lawmakers argued that the bill, which is partly aimed at boosting U.S. technology competition with China, should also include measures to better protect U.S. critical technologies from being stolen by the Chinese government.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for April 5-9 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Huawei doesn’t expect to make rapid progress with President Joe Biden's administration on U.S. sanctions, Rotating Chairman Eric Xu told analysts April 12 in a streamed presentation. Huawei faces challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitics and U.S. sanctions, Xu said. Meanwhile, Biden hosted executives from AT&T, Google, Intel, automakers and other tech companies for a virtual discussion of supply chain issues. Xu said the U.S. is responsible for supply disruptions.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued new guidance and frequently asked questions for the increased export controls against Russia announced in March (see 2103170022). The April 12 guidance provides a summary of the changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and answers common questions about impacts to export licenses, license reviews and which activities are caught by the restrictions.

The U.S. and China saw an uptick in trade restrictions during the first few months of 2021, and companies should expect more compliance challenges as they continue to contend with a variety of export controls and sanctions issues from both countries, law firms said.