Trade enforcement under President Donald Trump could "look a little different" than how the federal government has previously acted because of how the DOJ seems now to want to focus on holding individuals accountable, as opposed to corporations, according to a trade lawyer speaking during a June 6 webinar hosted by the Massachusetts Export Center.
EU member states, along with the bloc's Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, met in Lithuania last week to discuss ways to strengthen export enforcement of dual-use goods sent to Russia, Lithuania's customs office said. The countries said they want to better "identify organized criminal groups and prevent illegal profit-making," and they also discussed ways to more "promptly" share information about how bad actors are evading sanctions, the notice said, according to an unofficial translation. They specifically examined sanctions evasion methods in the Baltic Sea region. The meeting featured customs and law enforcement representatives from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
The U.S. should be prepared to reimpose sanctions on Syria if the country’s new government does not head in the right direction, a researcher told a congressional panel June 5.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's recently issued advanced chip guidance appears to raise compliance expectations for industry, especially for banks and forwarders that may be indirectly or inadvertently violating export controls on China, lawyers said.
Countries should “redouble” efforts to prevent sanctions violations involving North Korea, including “through enhanced screening and more stringent export control measures,” the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team said in a recent report. The MSMT, the group formed last year by the U.S. and 10 of its close allies to report on North Korea-related sanctions evasion (see 2502210005), also called for scrutiny of cargo ships that may be transferring petroleum to or on behalf of North Korea, adding that member states should share lists of any vessels suspected of delivering oil to North Korea. The 30-page report also includes details about arms transfers between North Korea and Russia.
Incoterms, the rules that define the responsibilities of sellers and buyers in shipping contracts, don’t relieve shippers from their sanctions compliance obligations or modify sanctions-related requirements “in any way,” the European Commission said in recent guidance.
A bipartisan Russian sanctions bill that would also target countries still doing certain business with Moscow may hurt Russia in the short term but also could further damage U.S. trade talks with China, said Nicholas Burns, U.S. ambassador to China during the Biden administration. And while Burns said he’s glad the Trump administration has maintained sanctions against Chinese companies for selling sensitive microelectronics to Russia, he said the U.S. likely will never be able to convince China to stop supporting Russia’s defense industrial base.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., June 2 to “immediately” schedule a vote on a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill.
The EU is preparing another package of Russia sanctions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on LinkedIn, including a measure that could lower the price cap on Russian oil from its current level of $60. The sanctions would specifically target "Russia's energy revenues, including Nord Stream infrastructure, Russia's banking sector" and would involve "lowering the crude oil price cap," the commission said.
Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and David McCormick, R-Pa., have introduced a bill that would require the executive branch to develop a strategy to counter deepening cooperation among U.S. "adversaries" in such areas as sanctions evasion and the sharing of restricted dual-use technology, the lawmakers announced May 27.