The House Foreign Affairs Committee unveiled legislation Sept. 10 that would consolidate the State Department’s sanctions activities into a new Sanctions Policy Bureau.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., announced Sept. 11 that they are introducing a bill to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism until it returns more than 19,000 children it abducted during its invasion of Ukraine.
The EU is planning new sanctions against Russia, Israel and human-smuggling networks, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her state of the union speech this week.
Two Republican senators took to the Senate floor this week to reiterate their support for increasing sanctions on Russia to pressure it to end its war against Ukraine.
The European Commission issued new guidance this week to clarify how its Russia-related sanctions apply to parties and entities “acting on behalf or at the direction of” a sanctioned Russian party. New FAQ 17 says the commission may consider that an EU subsidiary is acting on behalf of a Russian parent company if the subsidiary obtains approvals from the parent company, carries out “instructions given directly or indirectly” by the parent company, or appoints or dismisses any “authorised representatives” associated with the company. The EU subsidiary may need to put in place “a public trusteeship or a similar firewall measure” to prevent any sanctions violations, the guidance said.
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U.S. sanctions and export controls have had only a limited impact on Russia’s ability to raise revenue and obtain technology for its war machine, as Moscow has taken various steps to get around American restrictions, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Sept. 8.
The U.S. is prepared to increase pressure on Russia through coordinated sanctions with the EU, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sept. 7 on NBC's "Meet the Press." Bessent said that if the EU and the U.S. "can come in, do more sanctions, secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil," then the Russian economy "will be in full collapse. And that will bring President [Vladimir] Putin to the table." His comments come after what he described as a "very productive" phone call with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. He said that the EU and the U.S. are in a race between how long the Ukrainian military can "hold up, versus how long can the Russian economy hold up."
The Council of the European Union on Sept. 5 sanctioned two people for human rights abuses in detention centers in Crimea. Vadim Bulgakov and Aleksei Pikin are the head and deputy head, respectively, of the Directorate of the Russian Federal Penal Enforcement Service for Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, and are responsible for the prisoners, including political prisoners, the council said. The council's announcement said the "EU does not recognise and continues to condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation as a violation of international law," a move Russia made in 2014.
The Commerce Department’s spring 2025 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security features more than 20 new rulemakings that could introduce new or update existing export controls, including restrictions over advanced AI chips, emerging technologies, Russia-related controls and other revisions to the Export Administration Regulations.