The U.S. needs to expand its export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment to focus on "foundational" chips and not just advanced ones, policy analyst Dmitri Alperovitch said.
President Donald Trump's recent executive order halting prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act likely won't change the behavior of many companies, given the risk of prosecution globally or in the U.S. after Trump leaves office, lawyers said.
The European Commission this week issued new guidance with an updated list of territories that are “temporarily occupied” by Russia and subject to certain sanctions and trade restrictions. The list, published by Ukrainian authorities, is meant to help traders and other EU “operators” determine which areas in the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are subject to restrictions because they’re under control by Russia instead of by Ukraine. “Considering the fluid situation, a dynamic assessment of this control could be necessary,” the commission said. “In case of doubt, EU operators can reach out to their national competent authority.”
The House of Representatives voted 408-0 late Feb. 10 to pass a bill that would give companies more time to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act, which requires them to submit information on who owns and controls them to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Canada announced new sanctions this week against two military officials with the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces, the two groups locked in monthslong fighting over control of the country. The designations target Algoney Hamdan Dagalo Musa, an RSF major and procurement director, and Mirghani Idris Suleiman, an SAF general. Canada said both officials are linked to the violence against civilians and other human rights violations in Sudan. Both have been sanctioned by the U.S. (see 2410240006 and 2410080018).
The U.S., the U.K. and Australia this week sanctioned Zservers, a Russia-based internet infrastructure service provider, for supporting Russian ransomware attacks, the Treasury Department said. Treasury said Zservers specifically aids Russia-based LockBit, which the U.S. has called one of the world’s most active ransomware groups (see 2405070020).
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a correction this week to its January interim final rule that created new lists of trusted chip designers and service providers; imposed a broader, worldwide license requirement for chip foundries and packaging companies shipping certain advanced chips captured by Export Control Classification Number 3A090; and made other updates to its existing chip export controls (see 2501150040). The correction, effective Feb. 11, revises 3A090 to correct that ECCN's license requirement.
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EU lawmakers and the European Commission offered a strong rebuke this week of the U.S.’s latest export controls on advanced artificial intelligence chips, saying the restrictions could slow European AI technology innovation and set unfair buying restrictions across member states.
Julie Edelstein, the former acting principal deputy chief of DOJ's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, has joined the Wiggin and Dana law firm as a partner focused on national security, export controls and white-collar issues. Edelstein, who left DOJ last month, served as coordinator of the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a joint group created by DOJ, the Commerce Department and other agencies to pool resources toward investigations of trade violations involving critical technologies (see 2411250027 and 2302160019).