The Bureau of Industry and Security fined U.S.-based Seagate Technology $300 million for allegedly violating U.S. export controls against Huawei, the “largest standalone administrative penalty in BIS history,” the agency said. The agency fined the company and its branch in Singapore for selling millions of export-controlled hard disk drives to Huawei in violation of BIS’ foreign direct product rule. As part of a settlement agreement, Seagate agreed to a “mandatory multi-year audit requirement,” BIS said, and could face a five-year export denial order if it violates the terms of the agreement. The settlement comes about 18 months after Senate Republicans urged BIS to penalize Seagate for “likely” violating U.S. export controls against Huawei. Seagate said it received a proposed charging letter from BIS in August.

The U.S. announced new measures against people and companies helping Russia evade sanctions, adding 28 entities to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and more than 50 new entries to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List. The Entity List additions, effective April 12, include companies in China, Armenia, Malta, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, all of which have supported Russia’s military or defense industrial base. New designations imposed by Treasury and the State Department target people and companies operating in Russia or that are aiding Moscow's war effort and its imports of “critical technologies."

The Fish and Wildlife Service is suspending all trade in species listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species with a permit issued by Mexico, it said in a notice dated March 27. The suspension implements a directive from CITES issued in response to Mexico’s failure to protect the vaquita porpoise that will remain in effect until Mexico submits a CITES-approved compliance plan. “Effective immediately, all shipments containing CITES specimens traded for commercial purposes under an import permit, export permit, or re-export certificate issued by Mexico for the species, are subject to enforcement action,” the FWS said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 11 entities in China, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Russia to the Entity List for various activities that have contributed to human rights abuses, the agency said in a final rule effective March 28. The entities include technology and electronics companies, among them multiple subsidiaries of Chinese surveillance company Hikvision, which was added to the Entity List in 2019 (see 2205090014). The entities will face a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and BIS will review license applications under a presumption of denial. BIS also amended the EAR to “explicitly confirm” that protecting human rights worldwide is a “basis” for adding entities to the Entity List.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 37 entities to the Entity List for a range of reasons, including for supplying controlled items to Iran, supporting China’s military modernization efforts, illegally providing items to Russia and contributing to surveillance efforts in China and Myanmar. The entities -- located in Belarus, Myanmar, China, Pakistan, Russia and Taiwan -- will be subject to a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations with varying license application review policies. BIS also modified 10 existing Chinese entries on the Entity List. The additions and changes take effect March 2.

The Bureau of Industry and Security announced a host of new export control actions aimed at further limiting Russia from sustaining its war effort against Ukraine, including additions to the Entity List, an expansion of the agency’s industry sector restrictions on both Russia and Belarus and new export controls against Iran to address its drone transfers to Russia. The measures, effective Feb. 24, add 86 new entities to the Entity List; place additional restrictions on commercial, industrial and luxury goods; impose new license requirements on “low-technology” items destined to Iran; create a new Iran Foreign Direct Product Rule, and more.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added six Chinese entities to the Entity List because of their ties to China’s “High Altitude Balloons'' reconnaissance activities. The move comes days after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace. The aerospace and technology entities require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and BIS will review license applications under a presumption of denial. The additions take effect Feb. 10.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added seven Iranian entities to the Entity List for aiding Russia’s military and defense industrial base. The additions, effective Jan. 31, will also be subject to the Russia/Belarus-Military End User Foreign Direct Product rule. They will require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulation, and BIS will review license applications under a policy of denial except for certain food and medicine, which will be reviewed case by case. No license exceptions will be available.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will add a host of Chinese and Russian entities to the Entity List, including top Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., the agency said in a pair of notices released Dec. 15.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will add 24 companies to the Entity List for aiding Russia’s military, supplying export-controlled items to Iran or for supporting Pakistan’s nuclear activities. The additions include entities located in Latvia, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. BIS also removed one company from the Entity List.