The U.S. announced a new set of sweeping Russia-related export controls and sanctions this week to mark the two-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and to respond to Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny's death in prison. The measures include nearly 100 additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and more than 500 sanctions designations by the Treasury and State departments in what the U.S. said is its largest single tranche of designations since Russia began the war in 2022.
The U.S. will announce "major" new sanctions against Russia this week, President Joe Biden told reporters Feb. 20 before leaving on a campaign trip. He said his administration will be releasing new sanctions on Russia as part of a package that will be announced Feb. 23.
Businesses are relieved by the quasi-truce between China and the U.S., consultants and lawyers said on a trade panel last week, but those in the tech sectors expect more restrictions are coming in the near future.
Bridget McGovern, former assistant secretary for trade and economic security at DHS, joined Squire Patton as a partner in the public policy practice, the firm announced. McGovern will focus on national security and trade issues, including reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. She worked for over two years at DHS, where she served as an agency representative to CFIUS and helped implement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List.
Four lawmakers are urging the Biden administration to consider placing Chinese biotech company WuXi AppTec and its subsidiaries on the Commerce Department’s Entity List, the Treasury Department’s Non-Specially Designated Nationals Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List and the Defense Department’s Chinese Military Companies List. They said the firm has close ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and has been involved in perpetrating the CCP's human rights violations.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said Feb. 10 that he welcomes news that United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence firm Group 42 Holdings (G42) has sold its stake in Chinese companies.
Hesai Technology, the largest Chinese lidar company by sales, plans to sue the Pentagon for adding it to a list of companies with ties to China’s military (see 2402010018), the company announced Feb. 8. Hesai was added to the list “without any explanation or justification,” CEO Yifan Li said, calling the U.S. decision “unjust, capricious, and meritless.”
An investigation by the House Select Committee on China found that five U.S. venture capital firms have invested more than $3 billion in Chinese technology companies, many of which aid China’s military, surveillance apparatus and human rights violations, the committee said on Feb. 8.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 6 approved a bill that would designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization following the Yemen-based group’s recent attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Technology companies, trade groups, think tanks and researchers urged the government to be cautious as it evaluates its semiconductor-related export controls and prepares new ones, warning that misguided restrictions could cede American technology leadership to China, hurt the competitiveness of U.S. companies and raise the complexity of an already fraught compliance landscape.