Sanctions Train Rolls On
May 31 the European
Commission finalized its sixth round of
sanctions on imports of Russian oil (not
gas). According to Commission
President Charles Michel, “the European
Council was able to agree on a sixth package of
sanctions that will, to be concrete, make it
possible to ban Russian oil with a temporary
exception concerning oil that comes by
pipeline.
“To be very clear, this means
that there is immediately an impact of 75% of
Russian oil that is targeted by this measure.
And this means that before the end of the year,
nearly 90% of Russian oil that is imported at
European level will be covered by this
measure.
Earlier, President Biden and his
G-7 counterparts met with President Zelenskyy
of Ukraine May 8 and announced another
raft of sanctions to support the war
effort.
New initiatives
include:
· Sanctioning three of Russian’s
state-controlled television
stations,
· Prohibitions on U.S. persons
providing accounting, trust and corporate
formation, and management consulting services
to any person in the Russian
Federation,
· Further industrial sanctions, and
addition of more individuals subject to visa
restrictions.
In support of these actions,
Commerce published revisions to the Export
Administration Regulations (EAR) May 11,
amending part 746 of the EAR (Embargoes and
Other Special Controls) to broaden the scope of
industry sanctions. The Rule adds 205 HTS codes
at the 6-digit level and 478 corresponding
10-digit Schedule B numbers to supplement 4 to
Part 746. These should be reviewed carefully by
those brave souls still seeking to grow their
Russian sales.
The actions also named nine
Russian shipping concerns and their vessels,
along with companies associated with the Moscow
Industrial Bank and executives of
Gazprombank.
The ban on accounting, trust and
corporate formation, or management consulting
services may prove nettlesome for professional
services providers. In conjunction with the
Executive Order, OFAC issued two General
Licenses, GL34 and GL35 which provide limited
safe haven for the winding down of operations
and provision of credit rating and audit
services. Both GLs note that transactions
otherwise prohibited remain so, including those
with blocked individuals and
entities.
OFAC General License 31- Patent
& Trademark
Sanctions
Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC) May 5 issued General
License 31, stating that routine patent,
trademark, copyright, and other intellectual
property protection measures associated with
the Russian Federation are
permitted.
Filing applications, receipt, and
maintenance of intellectual protection is
permitted, including prosecution of enforcement
proceedings. Transactions with sanctioned
financial institutions remain
prohibited.
In March the United States Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO) terminated
engagement with Russia’s agency in charge of
intellectual property, the Federal Service for
Intellectual Property (Rospatent), and with the
Eurasian Patent
Organization.
Volume/Number | June 2022 - Vol 36, Num 6 |
The Export Practitioner
The Export Practitioner is the only monthly magazine devoted exclusively to news and analysis of U.S. export controls and trade sanctions.
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