Although Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. have taken steps to ease defense trade restrictions, companies are still being cautious because progress around AUKUS appears to have stalled, researchers and U.K. lawmakers said this week. They also said it’s still too early for the three nations to invite other countries to join, adding that they need to first prove that the concept works among themselves.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 32 entities to the Entity List for either circumventing export controls on China, supplying controlled items to Russia, evading BIS end-use checks or other activities that BIS said breached U.S. export rules. The additions include 23 entities located in China, along with others based in India, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, the agency said in a final rule released and effective Sept. 12. They will be subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under a presumption of denial or policy of denial.
Norway is launching a new export licensing system on Sept. 25 that it's expecting will improve the "user experience," the Norwegian Agency for Export Control and Sanctions said this week, according to an unofficial translation. The new system will feature new templates for licenses, the agency said, "and a decision letter with information will accompany each license." It also will make it "easier" for users to manage licenses for more than one company if they "represent multiple businesses and enterprises," allow users "access to new case types such as sanctions and sanctions reporting and general transfer licenses," and improve communication between the government and license applicants through SMS notifications.
The U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit this week updated its guidance for its end-user and stockist undertaking form, which must be completed by the end user or stockist of the exported items if they're sent under a standard individual export license, a standard individual trade control license or a license to provide technical assistance. The U.K. specifically updated its definition for "ultimate end-user," which is the entity that "receives and uses the final items from the end-user or intermediate user," including if the items have been altered, processed, installed or incorporated into another item, or after they have been held in stock or interim storage. "The end-user and ultimate end-user can be different entities but are not always," the agency said.
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.
The House of Representatives passed legislation Sept. 9 that could lead to greater scrutiny of dual-use exports to China.
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 State Department’s recently published spring 2025 regulatory agenda previews several export control rules that the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is hoping to issue this year, including revisions to the U.S. Munitions List, updates to the definition for defense services, updates to its AUKUS exemption, and more.
Vanquis Bank Limited, the British bank that the U.K. said failed to stop a newly sanctioned person from withdrawing money from their account (see 2509080008), has "taken steps to strengthen our screening processes to prevent similar incidents" in the future, a spokesperson said this week. The spokesperson also stressed that the U.K. government didn't impose a fine against the bank, the issue was self-reported, and the bank cooperated with the government's investigation.
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.