The Pentagon removed China-based Hesai Technology from its list of Chinese companies that it said have ties to that country’s military but immediately relisted the firm, according to a pair of Federal Register notices published this week.
Country of origin cases
New export controls over U.S. persons’ support for certain foreign military, intelligence and security services activities would place too much strain on both the government and industry compliance departments, disadvantage American exporters compared with their foreign competitors, and may provide no clear benefit to U.S. national security, companies and trade groups told the Bureau of Industry and Security.
China released new dual-use export control regulations Oct. 19, including details about its export licensing system, how Beijing will verify end-users of export-controlled items, how the rules may apply outside the country, and a method for adding restricted foreign importers, end-users and others who violate Chinese export controls to a new “control list.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security will add 26 companies and people to the Entity List after the agency said they violated U.S. export controls -- including by supplying sensitive items to China, Iran, Pakistan or Russia -- or failed to comply with U.S. end-use checks.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 17 removed sanctions from Atlas Doviz Ticaret A.S., a Turkish firm it originally sanctioned in 2019 for being used to provide foreign currency exchange services to Iran’s Ansar Bank and its currency exchange arm. OFAC didn’t release more information.
The U.S. will probably increase its use of sanctions and export controls no matter who wins the upcoming presidential election, although a Donald Trump-led administration would be more likely to pursue drastic measures that could accelerate U.S.-China decoupling, said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Those measures include expanding the use of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s foreign direct product rule or placing blocking sanctions on major Chinese companies such as Huawei.
The Council of the European Union on Oct. 8 extended the sanctions regime on Nicaragua for another year, until Oct. 15, 2025. The sanctions, which currently cover 21 people and three entities, were originally imposed in 2019 to respond to Nicaragua's "deteriorating political and social situation."
A dual U.S. and Iranian citizen on Oct. 7 was arrested for allegedly violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by sending digital and physical gift cards loaded with U.S. dollars to Iran, DOJ announced. Kambiz Eghbali, a Los Angeles resident, was charged alongside Iranian nationals Hamid Hajipour and Babak Bahizad for the scheme, which also included charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and commit money laundering.
Former Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Martha Bárcena said that she has been told that the U.S. will not comply with the panel ruling that said that rollup was understood to be part of the automotive rule of origin (see 2403070067), and she said that is undermining USMCA. She said that's because both the Republicans and the Democrats are fighting for the political support of the United Autoworkers and Teamsters. (The autoworkers' union characterizes rollup as watering down the requirement for North American content in vehicles).
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 4 agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by the Mexican government against a group of gun manufacturers and one gun distributor for their role in aiding the trafficking of guns into Mexico. The lawsuit accuses the gun makers of marketing, distributing, selling and designing guns in ways that knowingly arm Mexican drug cartels through corrupt gun dealers and illegal sales practices (Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Sup. Ct. # 23-1141).