The Bureau of Industry and Security added 11 parties to its Entity List this week for procuring items to support Iranian drone programs, China’s military modernization efforts or Russia’s military. The additions, outlined in a final rule released April 10 and effective April 11, include technology companies, logistics firms and one person based in either China, Russia or the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. has no plans to remove sanctions from Iranian technology company ArvanCloud (see 2306020020) after it was delisted by the EU earlier this month, a State Department spokesperson said.
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Two Russian nationals living in Florida pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act by illegally shipping aviation technology to Russian end users, DOJ announced April 4.
Sanctions compliance professionals should familiarize themselves with several advisories authorities recently issued to help spot “dark fleet” vessels that seek to evade the price cap on Russian oil sales or oil sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, experts said April 4 during a webinar hosted by the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists.
As of April 1, U.K. exporters can no longer consider EU inputs as originating in the U.K. when exporting those goods to Canada, the U.K.’s Department for Business & Trade said this week. That “time-limited” EU cumulation provision was included in the U.K.-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA), but now that it has expired, U.K. exporters must make sure their products “meet the Rules of Origin” requirements outlined in the TCA “after this change if you want to benefit from preferential access,” the department said. Industry questions should be directed to helen.stephen@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
The Canadian Ombudsman for Responsible Enterprise concluded that Dynasty Gold, a mining firm headquartered in British Columbia, allowed Uyghur labor transfers to its joint venture in Xinjiang during 2017-2020, and that such forced labor "may continue to persist" at the Hatu mine in Xinjiang.
The Bureau of Industry and Security completed nearly a quarter of its end-use checks with a “less than favorable outcome” in FY 2023, a Commerce Department official said, meaning the agency couldn’t verify those end-users as a reliable recipient of U.S.-origin export-controlled goods.
A Bureau of Industry and Security rule released last week (see 2403290060) that updated and corrected portions of the agency’s October semiconductor export controls (see 2310170055) also added a new license exception and offered clarifications to export guidance issued by BIS over the last year. The changes take effect April 4, and comments are due by April 29.
Switzerland-based international commodities trading firm Trafigura Beheer will pay over $126 million after pleading guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing Brazilian government officials to obtain business with state-owned oil company Petrobras, DOJ announced.