Companies should continue to see more Chinese additions to the U.S. Entity List this year, although Russia sanctions likely will continue to dominate the government’s time and resources, trade lawyers said this week.
Australia this week sanctioned seven Russian prison officials responsible for the “mistreatment” of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in the prison earlier this month. Australia's foreign affairs ministry said it used its Magnitsky-style human rights sanctions authority to impose the designations (see 2112220008 and 2203290005).
The U.S. needs a more measured and analytics-driven approach to sanctions, export controls and other economic statecraft tools, said Daleep Singh, President Joe Biden’s incoming deputy national security adviser for international economics. He warned about the risks of relying too heavily on new, large-scale sanctions against China and called on the U.S. to create a formal doctrine to guide its use of trade restrictions.
Elizabeth Rosenberg left her role as a senior sanctions official at the Treasury Department to join Bank of America as managing director, global financial crimes public policy, she announced on LinkedIn this week. Rosenberg was most recently Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, where she helped oversee the Biden administration’s sanctions activities against Russia, including by coordinating them with U.S. allies (see 2310040059, 2304270069, 2303030018 and 2212080040).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Hong Kong-registered Kohana Company Limited and Marshall Islands-registered Iridescent Co Ltd. for operating a vessel shipping more than $100 million worth of Iranian commodities to China. The Panama-flagged Kohana is on its way to China, where it plans to offload the cargo to Chinese businesses, OFAC said.
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The European Commission recently issued updated guidance for a requirement that will soon force EU exporters to insert clauses in their contracts that bar reexports of certain sensitive goods to Russia. The document offers guidance on how EU companies should comply with the “no reexport to Russia” clause, how it impacts contracts already in place, how the EU plans to enforce the requirement, what the clause’s wording should include, and more.
Computing chips and other high-tech equipment made by American companies continue to flow to Russia’s war machine despite U.S. efforts to stop them with export controls and sanctions, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Feb. 27.
The European Council extended until Feb. 28, 2025, its sanctions regime on Belarus for its support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The one-year extension was made as part of an annual review of the sanctions on Belarus, the council said Feb. 26. The restrictions include an asset freeze on 233 people and 37 entities, along with sectoral restrictions on the financial sector, trade, trade in dual-use goods and technology, and more.
China criticized the U.S. decision last week to sanction Chinese companies for allegedly helping Russia evade trade restrictions (see 2402230035). A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Feb. 26 that China “maintains an objective and impartial position” on the Russia-Ukraine war, and “normal trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia is not targeted at any third party or subject to any interference by any third party.” The spokesperson said Beijing “firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies and will take necessary measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.” The remarks were in response to a TASS news agency question during a regular press conference in Beijing.