Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is taking its first oil price cap enforcement action of 2024, targeting a shipping company linked to a price cap violation. OFAC is also issuing Russia-related General License 13H , "Authorizing Certain Administrative Transactions Prohibited by Directive 4 under Executive Order 14024," and Russia-related General License 86, "Authorizing Limited Safety and Environmental Transactions Involving Certain Persons or Vessels Blocked on January 18, 2024." OFAC is also amending Frequently Asked Question 1157.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Alberto Pimentel Mata for his role in exploiting the Guatemalan mining sector through widespread bribery schemes, including schemes related to government contracts and mining licenses.
Yemen is not subject to jurisdiction-based sanctions, nor will it become subject to jurisdiction-based sanctions on February 16, 2024. In order to ensure that the humanitarian aid community and commercial actors can continue providing humanitarian aid and commercial goods in Yemen, on January 17, 2024, OFAC issued five general licenses (GLs) to authorize certain categories of transactions, including: (1) agriculture, medicine, and medical devices; (2) telecommunications mail, and certain internet communications; (3) personal remittances; (4) refined petroleum products (including fuel); and (5) operation and use of ports and airports for import of goods.
Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matt Axelrod announced enhancements and expansions of the Bureau's Voluntary Self-Disclosure program, including simplified reporting, e-mail submittals and expedited handling of corrective action for unlawfully exported items. In a speech January 16 at NYU School of Law’s Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement Mr. Alelrod described the changes, along with an engaging history of the jukebox, details of which can be found in the complete speech.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is potentially vulnerable to threats from foreign and domestic actors.
The Export Practitioner is continuing with a series of upgrades and enhancements with this upgraded newsletter and e-edition. The process began with a redesign of our print edition last January. When you visit our site to read this issue of Export Practitioner, you'll find we feature all of our content in an online format. Further improvements and enhancements will be coming to keep you better informed about critical developments in export management, enforcement and policies. If you have any questions about access or editorial, reach out anytime to info@traderegs.com or the editor, Frank Ruffing at +1.703.283.5220 – Frank Ruffing, Editor
The Export Practitioner is continuing with a series of upgrades and enhancements with this upgraded newsletter and e-edition. The process began with a redesign of our print edition last January. When you visit our site to read this issue of Export Practitioner, you'll find we feature all of our content in an online, searchable format. Further improvements and enhancements will be coming to best keep you informed of critical developments in export compliance, enforcement and policies. If you have questions about subscriber access or editorial, reach out anytime to info@traderegs.com or the editor, Frank Ruffing at +1.703.283.5220
The US Export-Import Bank signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday with the Saudi Export-Import Bank to facilitate the financing of US exports to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The MOU will encourage collaboration between the two export credit agencies as well as support exports in a variety of sectors, including climate and energy security, critical minerals projects, infrastructure, transportation and digital technology.
House Select Committee on China Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc) is once again airing his concerns about a company with ties to the Chinese military – this time Emirati artificial intelligence …
The Commerce Department plans to announce a department-wide national security strategy in the coming weekS to address major priorities and move forward on its mission to “protect, promote and preserve our national security,” according to Deputy Secretary Don Graves. Commerce is playing a greater role in protecting national security than ever before, Mr. Graves said. “New landmark legislation has made it possible for us to meet our major national security challenges head-on – from chips and semiconductors to revitalizing America's industrial base and unleashing technology innovation. And we are looking to sustain and expand that role in the days ahead.” He spoke at the launch of the National Foreign Trade Council’s Alliance for National Security and Competitiveness. The Deputy Secretary offered no details about the upcoming strategy. But he told the gathering that new methods for responding to national security are needed. “At the Department of Commerce, we are focused on national security more than ever. We are investing in our tools today to ensure we’re prepared for whatever challenges we may face in our future national security environment.” Export Controls One of the tools at Commerce’s disposal is the implementation of export controls to ensure that the US private sector’s technological innovation is not diverted to destructive ends that harm US national security while also still allowing for technological innovation to take place domestically. Another key priority is the development of defense partnerships. Mr. Graves pointed to the department’s sharp focus on weakening Russia’s war machine through aggressive export control measures and also business development campaigns to support commercial linkages with Ukraine. US supply chain resilience is a national security imperative for Commerce. The department will convene a diverse array of public and private sector leaders at a Supply Chain Data and Analytics Summit later this year, he said.
In its first material communication since imposing a "pause" on license issuance for firearms exports, Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security issued a collection of information addressing three activities: (1) Import Certificates/End Use Certificates, (2) Delivery Verification, and (3) Firearms Entry Clearance Requirements. This notice is not directed solely at the firearms industry. Import certificate and end user statements are required in other EAR controlled transactions, not just firearms. And the delivery verification process can be used for any transaction under the EAR. It is only the third item that is specifically directed to the firearms trade. "We don’t see this has having a significant impact on our industry," notes Larry Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Treasury and State announced further sanctions on shipping activities related to the Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Russian Military. OFAC also lifted sanctions on a Gulfstream G650 business jet associated with oligarch Suleyman Kerimov. OFAC added four tankers two companies in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for shipping Iranian commodities on behalf of the network of Iran-based, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF)-backed Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal. Earlier in the week OFAC added several entities and indigenous (Ilyushin and Antonov) aircraft complicit in the transfer to Russia and testing of DPRK-origin ballistic missiles by Russia since late November 2023.
The First Quarter Technical Advisory Committees (TAC) meetings begin January 30 with Sensors and Instrumentation The schedule on the BIS website has not been updated and reflects last year's dates and times. Also The President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA) and solicits nominations for membership. Nominations for members must be received on or before February 8,.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke at FinCEN headquarters January 8, and the office released a complete set of Frequently Asked Quaestions (FAQs) related to the new Beneficial Ownership reporting requirements. Excerpts of Ms. Yellen's speech below, followed by the FAQs "It’s been an exciting start to the year for FinCEN and for all of us, as the new beneficial ownership reporting requirement went into effect just last week. With this step, we’re closing a loophole and sending a clear message: The United States is not a haven for dirty money. "The benefits of increasing corporate transparency through gathering beneficial ownership information—put simply, knowing who owns what—start with protecting our national security. Information on beneficial ownership will support our law enforcement colleagues in making arrests, prosecuting offenders, and seizing ill-gotten assets. It will also inform strategic, targeted actions, such as sanctions. Corporate transparency can bring economic benefits as well: protecting our financial system, reducing due diligence costs, enabling fair business competition, and increasing tax revenue.
SAP SE (SAP), a publicly traded global software company based in Germany, will pay over $220 million to resolve investigations by the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to the SEC complaint, from at least December 2014 through December 2018, SAP employed third-party intermediaries and consultants in various schemes to make improper payments to government officials in order to obtain and retain business in South Africa, Greater Africa (Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ghana), and Indonesia. Readers may recall SAP’s prior history, which include a non-prosecution agreement from 2021 with the Justice Department’s National Security Division, as well as administrative agreements with the Departments of Commerce and the Treasury relating to Iran-related export law violations, and a resolution in 2016 with the SEC concerning alleged FCPA violations in Panama.
ASML, a Dutch semiconductor producer, had its license to ship two types of machines that make semiconductors partially revoked. This comes after ASML canceled some of its shipments ahead of tightening Dutch restrictions on exports. "China opposes the US’s overstretching the national security concept and using all sorts of pretexts to coerce other countries into joining its technological blockade against China," said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin.
PECSEA is seeking private-sector members who are preferably senior executives with strategic authority within their companies and with significant operational control around production, supply chains, research and development activities, and/or international sales and should have an understanding of the impact of export controls on these functions and the broader marketplace.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) federal advisory committee, unanimously passed 12 recommendations on export modernization, rapid response and North American trade during its most recent public meeting. The 2024 Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit, which will be held in Philadelphia March 25 – 28. Registration will open January 10, 2024, at noon Eastern time
This year, the Trade Winds Europe/Eurasia Trade Mission and Business Forum will be hosted in Istanbul, Türkiye from May 13-15, 2024. Led by the International Trade Administration (ITA), Trade Winds is a multi-country trade mission and business development forum that provides U.S. businesses with the expertise of commercial diplomats from over 25 European and Eurasian markets, and connects them with potential business partners across the region.
Tibet rights campaigners have welcomed a commitment by Boston-based biotech giant Thermo Fisher Scientific to halt sales of its DNA test kits (“HID”) products to police in occupied Tibet. Thermo Fisher communicated this commitment to shareholders in a letter in December and it took effect on 31 December 2023. The announcement comes after more than a year of campaigning by Tibet groups. The campaign was prompted by reports in 2022 revealing that Chinese police forces in occupied Tibet had been extensively using Thermo Fisher’s HID products, including DNA testing kits and DNA sequencing equipment to carry out a widespread, ethnically-targeted collection of DNA samples from Tibetans.