The Bureau of Industry and Security will add a host of Chinese and Russian entities to the Entity List, including top Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., the agency said in a pair of notices released Dec. 15.

BIS will add 36 entities for trying to acquire U.S. technology to support China’s military modernization or for sending controlled U.S. items to other companies on the Entity List, the agency said. Other entities were added for illegally exporting U.S. items to Iran or for their involvement in Chinese human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The entities -- mostly involved in China’s semiconductor manufacturing, research and sales industries -- will require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. BIS will review license applications under a review policy of presumption of denial. The additions take effect Dec. 16.

In a separate notice, BIS said it will also remove nine Russian entities from the Unverified List and move them to the Entity List after the agency said it was unable to "verify their bona fides" for receiving controlled U.S. items. BIS also removed 27 entities from the UVL -- 26 in China and one in Pakistan -- after it said it was able to successfully conduct end-use checks on those entities. The new Russian entities on the Entity List will require a license for all items subject to the EAR with a license review policy of denial. The changes also take effect Dec. 16.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will add 24 companies to the Entity List for aiding Russia’s military, supplying export-controlled items to Iran or for supporting Pakistan’s nuclear activities. The additions include entities located in Latvia, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. BIS also removed one company from the Entity List.

All added entities will require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. BIS will review license applications under a review policy of denial or presumption of denial, with some entities eligible for certain case-by-case reviews, including for food and medicine. The additions take effect Dec. 8.

The Bureau of Industry and Security announced a sweeping set of new export controls it said will restrict China’s ability to acquire advanced computing chips and manufacture advanced semiconductors. The controls, outlined in a final rule that will take effect in phases, will impose new restrictions on certain advanced computing semiconductor chips and semiconductor manufacturing items, impose controls on transactions for supercomputer end-uses and certain integrated circuit end-uses, and issue new restrictions on transactions involving certain entities on the Entity List.

The rule, which adds a host of new license requirements, will notably impose new restrictions on U.S. items destined to a Chinese semiconductor fab if those items are capable of advanced logic or memory chip production over certain thresholds outlined by BIS. The rule also expands the scope of the agency’s forteign direct product rule to cover more items and 28 existing Chinese entities on the Entity List.

The new restrictions on advanced semiconductor manufacturing items take effect Oct. 7, while other restrictions on “U.S. persons’ ability to support the development, production, or use of” integrated circuits at certain China-based chip facilities take effect Oct. 12. Other restrictions, including the rule’s advanced computing and supercomputer controls, take effect Oct. 21. Public comments on the changes are due (DATE TK TK TK)

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 31 Chinese entities to its Unverified List, including semiconductor firm Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., it said in a final rule effective Oct. 7. BIS said it hasn’t been able to verify the “legitimacy and reliability” of the entities through end-use checks, including their ability to responsibly receive controlled U.S. exports. All export license exceptions involving those parties will be suspended, and exporters must obtain a statement from any party listed on the UVL before proceeding with certain exports.

The agency also removed nine other entities from the UVL and issued new guidance on what types of criteria and activities may lead to the transfer of UVL entries to the more restrictive Entity List.

The U.S. imposed new sanctions against Russia Sept. 30 and announced it will add 57 entities to the Entity List for supporting Russia's military amid its war in Ukraine. The sanctions target members of Russia’s military-industrial complex, including various technology and defense firms, two of Russia's international suppliers and members of Russia’s legislature, the Treasury Department said. The Entity List additions, which BIS said will take effect Sept. 30, target parties that have sought to supply Russia’s military with controlled U.S. items or are involved in the country’s quantum computing industry, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in an emailed news release. Fifty of the 57 newly added entities will be subject to BIS’ Russia/Belarus Military End User Foreign Direct Product Rule, which will limit their ability to acquire certain foreign-produced goods made by or with U.S.-origin items.

The Bureau of Industry and Security updated its restricted aircraft list with another Iranian-owned and operated plane after it violated U.S. export controls, the agency said. BIS said the cargo plane -- owned by Saha Airlines, which is operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force -- flew into Russia without BIS authorization. Certain activities involving the plane, including maintenance and repair, are now subject to restrictions outlined in General Prohibition 10 of the Export Administration Regulations. The agency added three Iranian-owned planes to the list last week.

The Bureau of Industry and Security updated its restricted aircraft list by adding three Iranian-owned and operated planes for violating U.S. export controls, the agency said in an emailed news release. BIS said the planes -- which are owned by Mahan Air, Qeshm Fars Air and Iran Air and are the first Iranian aircraft added to the list -- illegally provided flight services to Russia. Certain activities involving the planes, including maintenance and repair, are now subject to restrictions outlined in General Prohibition 10 of the Export Administration Regulations.

President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order today to guide how the U.S. conducts national security reviews over inbound foreign direct investments. The order, which is the first to give formal presidential direction to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., will add “several national security factors” for CFIUS to consider when reviewing covered transactions and expand on the committee’s “existing statutory factors,” senior administration officials said during a Sept. 14 call with reporters. Biden will specifically direct CFIUS to consider a covered transaction's impact on critical U.S. supply chains, U.S. technological leadership (including for microelectronics and artificial intelligence), U.S. cybersecurity, personal sensitive data and more.

Administration officials said the order, which doesn’t expand or limit CFIUS’s legal authorities, is designed to “provide important focus” to the committee’s review functions. It also will help companies and foreign governments better understand the U.S.’s FDI screening priorities, the officials said. “By highlighting and sharpening the committee's focus on these evolving and emerging risks, the executive order will help guide the committee, and should also help businesses and investors that identify early on national security risks arising from transactions to determine whether to file with CFIUS,” an official said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control recently issued preliminary guidance on the price cap for seaborne Russian oil and related maritime services policy confirmed by the G7 earlier this month. The policy is split into two different service bans with exemptions for oil products purchased below certain price caps. The ban for crude oil will take effect Dec. 5 and for other petroleum products Feb. 5. The coalition has not yet set price points for oil and petroleum products.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on Sept. 8 released an interim final rule expanding an authorization for the release of some controlled software and technology to all entities on the agency’s Entity List if the release is for the purposes of standards-setting activities. Previously, the authorization had applied only for some Entity List entities, namely Huawei and its affiliates. The interim rule takes effect Sept. 9.

The long-anticipated interim final rule also amends definitions related to the authorization, including by setting a new definition for what is a standards-setting activity. It allows release of software and technology for cryptographic standards. The previously issued authorization had also only mentioned technology, and not software.

Industry had called for the expansion of the authorization in recent years, saying that restricting the authorization to Huawei was causing uncertainty and chilling participation in standards bodies. The national security threat from ceding U.S. participation “outweighs the risks related to the limited release of certain low-level technology and software to parties on the Entity List in the context of a ‘standards-related activity,’” BIS said in the new interim final rule.

The Group of Seven nations intend to implement a price cap on Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products, according to a joint statement released today by the G7 Finance Ministers.

The statement includes plans to implement a "comprehensive prohibition" of services which enable maritime transportation of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products. Services would only be rendered if Russian products are purchased at or below a price determined by a "broad coalition of countries." The cap is designed to reduce Russian revenues and the country's ability to fund its ongoing war in Ukraine while limiting the impact of the war on global energy prices, particularly for low and middle-income countries, said the statement. This measure is designed to "build on and amplify" existing sanctions.

Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen issued a related statement, saying that the price cap would help fight inflation and protect workers and businesses in the U.S. OFAC anticipates that it will publish preliminary guidance on implementation later this month, it said in a notice.

Chipmaker NVIDIA said the U.S. has imposed a “new license requirement, effective immediately,” on exports of certain chips to China (including Hong Kong) and Russia. The company’s Aug. 26 Securities and Exchange Commission filing said the government informed it that same day of the requirement, which covers the company’s A100 and H100 chips, as well as any future chips that meet performance thresholds equivalent to the A100.

“The USG indicated that the new license requirement will address the risk that the covered products may be used in, or diverted to, a ‘military end use’ or ‘military end user’ in China and Russia. The Company does not sell products to customers in Russia,” NVIDIA said. The “new license requirement” may require NVIDIA to “transition certain operations out of China,” it said. NVIDIA “is engaged with the USG and is seeking exemptions for the Company’s internal development and support activities.” BIS didn't immediately comment.

AMD said the new requirement appears to also affect sales of some of its high-end chips to China and Russia, according to a report in The New York Times. NVIDIA and AMD did not immediately comment.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will add seven Chinese entities to its Entity List this week for acquiring or attempting to acquire U.S. technology to aid China’s military. All the entities will require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. BIS will review license applications under a policy of presumption of denial. The additions take effect Aug. 24.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on Aug. 2 suspended the export privileges of a Venezuela-based cargo airline for violating U.S. export controls. The agency said Empresa de Transporte Aéreocargo del Sur, also known as Aerocargo del Sur Transportation Company, acquired control of a U.S.-origin Boeing aircraft from Mahan Air -- Iran’s sanctioned airline -- and illegally flew that plane between Venezuela, Iran and Russia. BIS suspended the airlines’ export privileges for 180 days, barring it from participating in transactions subject to the Export Administration Regulations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security updated its restricted aircraft list with 25 foreign-produced planes that have violated U.S. export controls, the agency said in an news release. BIS said the commercial planes -- which are the first foreign-produced aircraft added to the list -- violated the Export Administration Regulations’ de minimis threshold for U.S. components by flying into Russia or Belarus. Certain activities involving the planes, including maintenance and repair, are now subject to restrictions outlined in General Prohibition 10 of the EAR.

The U.S. on June 28 announced a host of new sanctions targeting Russia’s defense industrial base, including export restrictions against entities helping Moscow evade U.S. export controls and for illegally acquiring controlled U.S. items for Iran. The financial sanctions, announced by the Treasury and State Department, target more than 100 entities and 50 people, including Russia’s State Corporation Rostec, a “massive” state-owned technological, aerospace and military-industrial enterprise. Treasury also issued several new general licenses.

The Commerce Department added 36 entities to the Entity List, including six for supporting Russia’s military. The Entity List additions -- which include companies located in China, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere -- take effect June 28.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on June 24 suspended the export privileges of three Russian airlines for violating U.S. export controls against Belarus. The agency issued 180-day temporary denial orders for Nordwind Airlines, Pobeda Airlines and Siberian Airlines, BIS said, banning all three airlines from participating in transactions subject to the Export Administration Regulations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on June 16 suspended the export privileges of a Belarusian airline for violating U.S. export controls against Belarus. The agency issued a 180-day temporary denial order for Belavia Belarusian Airlines, the country’s state-owned national airline, BIS said in a denial order. The order bans Belavia from participating in transactions subject to the Export Administration Regulations.

The House voted Monday to pass the Senate version of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act 369-42, clearing the way to enact legislation that lawmakers say will reduce supply chain congestion, penalize unfair carrier practices, better aid agricultural exporters and address broader issues in the ocean freight delivery system. President Joe Biden applauded the passage and said he will soon sign it into law.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 71 entities to its Entity List for supporting Russia’s military or for trying to illegally acquire U.S.-origin goods. The additions include 70 entities based in Russia and one based in Belarus, BIS said, and 66 of them are now subject to BIS’ Russia/Belarus foreign direct product rule. All the entities will require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. No license exceptions will be available, and BIS will review applications under a policy of denial. Exports of certain food and medicine will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, the agency said. The additions, which will be published in the Federal Register June 6, take effect June 2.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on May 20 suspended the export privileges of another Russian airline for violating U.S. export controls against Russia. The agency issued a 180-day temporary denial order for Rossiya Airlines, BIS said in an emailed news release, adding that the order “terminates” Rossiya’s ability to participate in transactions subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The agency also identified other aircraft that are likely violating U.S. export controls, including another plane owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

The U.S. expanded export controls on Russia to cover a broader range of “commercial and industrial operations,” including wood products and construction machinery, the Commerce Department said. The new controls make more items on the Export Administration Regulations subject to “stringent” licensing restrictions for export to Russia, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in a final rule that includes the specific Schedule B numbers and Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes of the newly restricted items. Commerce said the items previously didn’t require a license for “most exports” to Russia.

The controls came one day after the White House announced a series of additional Russian sanctions, including new designations targeting Russian state-controlled media entities and a ban on the provision of certain management consulting services.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 21 suspended the export privileges of another Russian airline for violating U.S. export controls against Russia. The agency issued a 180-day temporary denial order for Moscow-based cargo aircraft carrier Aviastar, BIS said in an emailed news release, adding that the order will “hinder” the airline’s ability to deliver military cargo to Russia. Aviastar will be barred from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. BIS earlier this month issued temporary denial orders for Russian airlines Aeroflot, Azur Air and UTair.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 10 more planes to its list of restricted aircraft, including planes owned by Aeroflot, Utair and Belavia, the first Belarusian airline added to the list. The agency also updated tail numbers for 32 planes and authorized two aircraft to leave Russia. The agency said it will impose penalties and/or jail time or revoke export privileges for any company or person that violates the Export Administration Regulations by providing “any form of service” to the listed aircraft without a required BIS license.

The Bureau of Industry and Security expanded its export license requirements for Russia and Belarus to cover all items on the Commerce Control List, the agency said in an April 8 notice, further widening restrictions that previously only applied to categories 3-9 of the CCL. The agency correspondingly revised its recently created Russia/Belarus foreign direct product rule, which will now apply to all items on the CCL, BIS said. The agency also revised its License Exception Aircraft, vessels and spacecraft (AVS) to limit its availability for certain Belarus-related aircraft. The changes are effective April 8.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 7 suspended the export privileges of three Russian airlines for violating U.S. export controls against Russia. The agency issued 180-day temporary denial orders for Aeroflot, Azur Air and UTair, which bar the airlines from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said. The agency said it may renew the denial orders after 180 days.

BIS said the airlines continued to fly without a license after their planes were added to the agency’s list of restricted Russian aircraft last month. The temporary denial orders represent the “first enforcement action” taken by BIS against Russia since it began its war in Ukraine, Matthew Axelrod, the agency’s senior export enforcement official, said during a call with reporters.

The U.S. will soon issue a series of new Russian financial restrictions, including full-blocking sanctions on the country’s largest financial institution, Sberbank, and its largest private bank, Alfa Bank, the White House said April 6. The U.S. will also impose full-blocking sanctions against a group of “critical” Russian state-owned entities, Russian government officials, oligarchs and their family members, including President Vladimir Putin’s adult children. President Joe Biden will also issue an executive order blocking new investment in Russia by U.S. people or companies. The U.S. sanctions will be announced alongside similar measures by G7 member states and the EU.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 120 entities to its Entity List for supporting the Russian and Belarusian militaries, the agency said in a final rule. The additions include military end-users in Russia and Belarus, along with others that have tried to send export-controlled items to Russia’s military, BIS said. The parties will be subject to a “highly restrictive” policy of denial for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, the agency said, and no license exceptions will be available. The additions, which will be published in the Federal Register April 7, take effect April 1.

Ninety-five of the newly added military end-users will be designated under Footnote 3 of the Entity List, which subjects them to BIS’ recently issued foreign direct product rule for Russian and Belarusian military end-users. “Application of the Russia/Belarus MEU FDP Rule to these entities tremendously expands the universe of commodities, software, and technologies that they will be unable to obtain in the global market,” BIS said.

All exports, reexports and transfers that now require a license as a result of the increased export restrictions that were aboard a carrier to a port as of April 1 may proceed to their destinations under the previous eligibility, BIS said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 73 new aircraft to its list of planes that have violated U.S. export controls by flying into Russia, including aircraft owned by Russian cargo carriers, the agency said in an emailed news release. The list includes new planes owned by AirBridgeCargo, which calls itself Russia's largest cargo airline, Atran, a Moscow-based cargo airline, and other commercial or private aircraft owned by Aeroflot, Alrosa, Azur Air, Nordstar, Nordwind, Pegasfly, Pobeda, Rossiya, Royal Flight, S7 Airlines and Utair. BIS also removed 12 aircraft that were allowed to return to owners in partner countries and updated tail numbers for other aircraft to “reflect their purported re-registration in Russia.” The agency said it will impose penalties and/or jail time or revoke export privileges for any company or person that violates the Export Administration Regulations by providing “any form of service” to the aircraft without a required BIS license.

The White House and the State Department on March 24 announced full blocking sanctions on more than 400 individuals and entities, including members of the Russian legislature, defense companies and their leadership, and additional Russian elites. The targets are "key enablers of the invasion" of Ukraine, OFAC said in a press release that accompanied the full list of sanctioned individuals and entities.

The White House also announced that it would, in coordination with other G7 members and the EU, continue to work jointly to "blunt Russia’s ability to deploy its international reserves" and clarified that transactions involving gold related to the Russian central bank are covered by existing sanctions.

The U.K. will suspend retaliatory tariffs on a range of U.S. goods after the U.S. announced plans to remove its Section 232 tariffs on U.K. steel and aluminum. The Commerce Department expects the tariff removals to benefit more than $500 million worth of American exports, including “various agriculture products and consumer goods.” Although the U.S. said it plans to remove the Section 232 tariffs June 1, the U.K. didn’t immediately say when its tariff suspensions would take effect.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a list of about 100 commercial and private aircraft that have violated U.S. export controls by flying into Russia, including planes operated by the country’s main airline operators and one owned by a Russian oligarch. BIS said it will impose penalties, jail time or revoke export privileges for any company or person that violates the Export Administration Regulations by providing “any form of service” to the aircraft without a required BIS license. The list includes planes owned by Russian airlines Aeroflot, AirBridgeCargo and Utair and Russian businessman Roman Abramovich.

President Joe Biden issued an executive order March 11 banning exports of luxury goods headed to Russian residents, including luxury vehicles, jewelry, high-end alcohol, high-end watches, and high-end jewelry. A fact sheet said Russians import about $550 million a year worth of these goods.

Biden also announced new banking-related and financing restrictions as well as blocking sanctions on members of the Duma who sponsored legislation to recognize parts of Ukraine as independent republics. The new blocking designations will also target billionaire Yuri Kovalchuk and executives of banks that were previously sanctioned.

The Treasury Department will also develop guidance on sanctions to make clear that all U.S. persons must comply, whether the transaction is in traditional currency or cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin.

The Bureau of Industry and Security announced new export controls on Russia’s oil refinery sector and added 91 entities to the Entity List for supporting Russian security or military sectors. The new restrictions, which took effect March 3, build on an extensive set of U.S. sanctions announced within the last week in response to the invasion of Ukraine, meant to cut Russia off from importing goods that help support and fund its military.

The new export controls will include additional and more stringent license requirements for exports of certain items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said, including for a range of oil refinery equipment, extraction equipment and other items that may be used in Russia’s energy sector. The requirements include a new “general prohibition” for exports to Russia of goods classified under certain Harmonized Tariff Schedule-6 codes and Schedule B numbers. BIS will impose a license review policy of denial for most applications, but some exports needed for health and safety reasons will be reviewed under a case-by-case policy.

BIS said the new Entity List additions -- which are located in Russia, Belize, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Malta, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain and the U.K. -- all either support or are involved in Russia’s military and defense sectors or defense research efforts. The agency will impose a license requirement for all items subject to the EAR, and each of the 91 entities will be subject to a license review policy of denial. For five of the entities, however, BIS said it will also impose a case-by-case review policy for applications involving U.S. government-supported space programs. No license exceptions will be available.

The U.S. issued another set of “expansive” Russia sanctions, targeting various Russian oligarchs, allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, their family members and several Russian intelligence disinformation outlets. The designations include more than 80 people and entities in Russia or Ukraine that either offer financial support to the Kremlin or help the government “promulgate disinformation and influence perceptions,” the Treasury Department said.

Treasury also issued new General License 15, which authorizes certain transactions with sanctioned entities owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov. The license was issued one day after the agency released two other Russia-related general licenses, including General License 13, which authorizes payments of certain taxes and import fees to Russia despite sanctions imposed Feb. 28 against the Russian central bank, national wealth fund and Ministry of Finance.

The State Department is also sanctioning 22 Russian defense firms, Treasury added, including entities that develop and produce fighter aircraft, infantry fighting vehicles, electronic warfare systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles for Russia’s military.

The White House today announced a series of additional sanctions and export controls targeting Russia and Belarus for the invasion of Ukraine, including new restrictions on technology and software exports to Belarus, export controls on shipments of oil and gas extraction equipment to Russia, blocking sanctions on 22 Russian defense entities and a prohibition on Russian cargo planes flying to and from the U.S. Commerce will also add more entities to its Entity List that support Russian and Belarusian security services and defense efforts.

As part of the measures, shipments to Belarus will face many of the same export restrictions applied last week to Russia, including licensing restrictions under the foreign direct product rule and a near total ban on exports of items to Belarusian military end-users. Commerce said the export restrictions will take effect today when pre-publication notices are filed in the Federal Register.

The Office of Foreign Asset Control on Feb. 28 issued a new directive that blocks certain transactions with the Central Bank of Russia, the Russian National Wealth Fund, and the Russian Ministry of Finance. OFAC also designated the Russian Direct Investment Fund -- which the agency called a "key" sovereign wealth fund -- along with its CEO, Kirill Dmitriev. OFAC also designated RDIF's management company and one of the managing company’s subsidiaries. By blocking these entities, OFAC said it is "terminating yet another route through which Russia has benefitted from access to the U.S. financial system."

The move follows a Feb. 26 joint statement by the U.S. along with the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada that promised "restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions." That statement also laid out commitments to remove Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, to limit wealthy Russians' access to western financial systems and to create a transatlantic task force that will jointly ensure the effective implementation of sanctions.

The U.S. will set new sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov and "members of the Russian National Security Team," said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki at a press briefing Jan. 25. The decision was reached following a phone call with EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU announced similar measures the same day. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said details would be released later on Feb. 25.

The Commerce and Treasury Departments announced a raft of new export controls and sanctions measures against Russia in press releases issued Feb. 24 following White House remarks by President Joe Biden. The measures include export control license requirements for a broad swath of the Commerce Control List, and the expansion of sanctions, including to entities in Belarus. The Bureau of Industry and Security also released a final rule on the export control changes, which take effect Feb. 24.

The Bureau of Industry and Security rule sets license requirements with a policy of denial on all Export Control Classification Number (ECCNs) in categories 3-9 of the Commerce Control list, 58 of which were previously not controlled to Russia, including semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers, and sensors, many of which were not previously controlled when destined to Russia, BIS said in a fact sheet. BIS is also adding 49 Russian military end users to the Entity List.

In the rule, BIS is also creating new foreign direct product rules for all of Russia, including a more restrictive foreign direct product rule for military end users that will require a license if an entity with a footnote 3 designation. BIS will also restrict the use of license exceptions for Russia.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control added some 75 entities and 15 individuals from Russia and Belarus to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, including VTB Bank, Russia’s second largest, and three other major financial institutions. OFAC also announced payable-through account sanctions on Sherbank, the largest Russian bank, as well as debt and equity prohibitions against major state-owned and private entities. OFAC also announced a series of general licenses outlining exceptions to the expanded sanctions.

President Joe Biden on Feb. 24 announced several new sanctions and export control actions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. In remarks at the White House, Biden promised that the sanctions would impose "severe costs on the Russian economy immediately" and are designed to "maximize the long-term impact on Russia." He said four more major Russian banks, including VTB, would be sanctioned along with Russian state-owned enterprises and that additional Russian officials would be added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.

The U.S., in coordination with the EU, U.K., Japan, Canada, and others, will "squeeze" Russian access to global technology through a package designed to cut more than half of Russian high-tech imports that will degrade Russian military financing and be a "major hit to long-term strategic ambitions," Biden said. Coordinated sanctions will also limit Russia's ability to do business in multiple currencies to impair its ability to compete economically and technologically, he said. Biden vowed that the U.S. and others will "keep up this drumbeat... in the days ahead."

Biden also said that personally sanctioning Putin is on the table and that the U.S. and allies are in talks with India and other countries to further limit Russian financial and technological access to the rest of the world.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will add seven entities to the Entity List for nuclear and nonproliferation reasons. The entities are for one company in China, five in Pakistan and one in the United Arab Emirates. The Chinese company will be subject to a license review policy of presumption of denial for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and the other entities will be subject to certain nuclear end-user licensing restrictions. No license exceptions will be available for the entities. BIS will also make some corrections and clarifications to existing entries on the Entity List. The additions take effect upon publication in the Federal Register, scheduled for Feb. 14.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will add 33 Chinese entities to its Unverified List this week, including a range of companies operating in China's technology and electronics sectors, it said in a notice released Feb. 7. BIS said it hasn’t been able to verify the “legitimacy and reliability” of the entities through end-use checks, including their ability to responsibly receive controlled U.S. exports. All export license exceptions involving those parties will be suspended, and exporters must obtain a statement from any party listed on the UVL before proceeding with certain exports.

The House’s America Competes Act of 2022 proposes a host of export control and sanctions provisions, including new restrictions on exports of electronic waste-related goods, designations targeting China and a repeal of the sunset of a human rights sanctions authority. The bill, unveiled this week as the response to the Senate’s U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, would also require the Biden administration to conduct “periodic” reviews of its export control lists to better protect critical technologies and would urge the administration to reexamine U.S. export policies for countries that supply weapons to terrorist organizations.

One provision would introduce new export restrictions on entities that ship “electronic waste items,” with a strict exemption process, according to a bill summary. Other measures in the House version align with the Senate's bill, including one provision that would require the U.S. to impose new sanctions against people or entities involved in “systematic rape, coercive abortion, forced sterilization, or involuntary contraceptive implantation” in China’s Xinjiang region. Another measure in both the House and Senate version would revise certain congressional reporting requirements under the Global Human Rights Accountability Act and would repeal the law’s sunset provision, nixing the need for continued congressional authorization of the often-used sanctions regime.

The bill also urges the Biden administration to better harmonize its export control and sanctions policies with allies and calls for more frequent reviews of those policies, partly to ensure China isn’t acquiring sensitive U.S. technologies.