The State Department announced sanctions on 13 entities and people based in China, Iraq, Russia and Turkey under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, the agency said in a Feb. 25 news release. The sanctions target people and companies that support Iran’s missile program. The State Department said the designations are “two-year discretionary sanctions” and block all U.S. government procurement, government assistance and exports related to the people and companies.
The Trump administration should sanction Russia for interference in the 2020 presidential election, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said in a Feb. 24 letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The three senators urged the administration to sanction anyone responsible for the interference or for providing “material or financial support” to those responsible. “It is long past time” for the administration to enact sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the letter said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company and designated its president for supporting the Nicolas Maduro-led regime in Venezuela, Treasury said Feb. 18. OFAC also issued a new general license and two new frequently asked questions that address the “significance” of the designations and clarifies the wind-down period.
Discussions within the Commerce Department to expand U.S. export control jurisdiction over foreign exports to Huawei and beyond would have a chilling effect on the U.S. semiconductor industry, said John Neuffer, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association. Neuffer said current U.S. export restrictions on Huawei are already hurting the industry’s ability to sell to China -- which represents about 35% of U.S. semiconductor sales -- and more restrictions would further alienate Chinese customers who are weary of being added to Commerce’s Entity List. “Some of them are afraid they’re next,” Neuffer said during a Feb. 18 panel hosted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
The Congressional Research Service released a Feb. 5 report on the global oil market effects of U.S. sanctions against Iran, Russia and Venezuela. The report contains an overview of U.S. sanctions against the three countries’ oil markets, including how successfully U.S. sanctions have blocked oil trade. The CRS said U.S. sanctions have succeeded in their goals in hurting the target markets, but U.S. sanctions frameworks do not include “design elements that consider possible oil market impacts” if the sanctions are eased or lifted.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 27-31 in case you missed them.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Jan. 31 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned eight people and on entity related to Russian interference in Ukraine, Treasury said in a Jan. 29 press release. The sanctions target Yuri Gotsanyuk, Mikhail Razvozhaev, Vladimir Nemtsev, Sergei Danilenko, Lidia Basova, Ekaterina Pyrkova, Ekaterina Altabaeva, Alexander Ganov and the Grand Service Express, a Moscow railway company that offers transportation between Russia and Crimea. The sanctions were coordinated with Canada, Treasury said, which announced similar sanctions Jan. 29. The European Union Council sanctioned seven of the eight people Jan. 28 (see 2001280047).
In the Jan. 23-28 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Council of the European Union sanctioned seven people for participating in the organization of Russian local elections in Ukraine, according to a Jan. 28 press release. The people were sanctioned for undermining the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine and are now subject to asset freezes, the notice said.