Even if a transaction is authorized by a Treasury Department sanctions license or a Commerce Department export license, it still may be subject to prohibitions or notification requirements under Treasury’s new outbound investment rules (see 2410280043), the agency said in new FAQs.
Exports to China
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined C.H. Robinson, one of the world’s largest logistics firms, more than $250,000 after OFAC said its non-U.S. subsidiaries violated sanctions against Iran and Cuba. The five subsidiaries allegedly provided freight brokerage or transportation services for 82 shipments to or from Iran or involving Iranian or Cuban goods, while one of the companies also did business with sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air.
The U.S. and China need to pause their escalating trade restrictions against one another and have a “serious” conversation about how to manage national security risks around technology to prevent a dangerous decoupling of their two economies, the outgoing leader of a major U.S.-China business organization warned this week.
Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., co-chair of the House Select Committee on China’s Critical Minerals Policy Working Group, has announced plans to introduce a bill that would restrict exports of two reusable materials: "black mass," a metal-rich mixture that comes from used lithium-ion batteries, and "swarf," metal debris produced during magnet manufacturing.
China appears to be preparing to use its own set of extraterritorial export controls against the U.S. in response to the Biden administration’s latest chip restrictions and Entity List additions, an official with the U.S.-China Business Council said.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., introduced a wide-ranging Hong Kong bill Dec. 9 that would, among other things, reauthorize the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act for five years.
A Chinese national was charged for his role in a scheme to illegally ship export-controlled "defense-related technical data" to China and illegally supply the Department of Defense with Chinese-origin rare earth magnets for aviation systems and military items, DOJ announced.
The newly released FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) calls for the executive branch to take several actions related to export controls, including a review of China’s efforts to evade U.S. restrictions, and an assessment of Japan’s possible participation in the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership.
The U.S. should continue working with allies to restrict sales of advanced semiconductors and semiconductor tools to China after the Biden administration leaves next month, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. But she also said she hopes the Trump administration prioritizes tools other than export controls and tariffs to counter China, and she warned against a potential decoupling of the two economies.
Nearly half of U.S. companies surveyed by the Bureau of Industry and Security this year said they didn’t know whether their products contained any Chinese-made, mature-node semiconductors, BIS said in a summary of those survey results released Dec. 6.