Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Netherlands said it’s seeing an uptick in exports of sanctioned goods to countries with a history of helping Russia evade sanctions, with many of those exports being sent by smaller firms that entered the market within the last couple of years.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced a bill Dec. 20 to sanction Turkey if it doesn't renew a recently expired ceasefire between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
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 Bureau of Industry and Security again renewed temporary denial orders for two Russian airlines that it said continue to illegally operate aircraft on flights into and out of Russia. The agency renewed denial orders for Siberian Airlines and Nordwind Airlines for one year from Dec. 6, saying they continue to "act in blatant disregard for U.S. export controls and the terms of previously issued TDOs," including by operating flights between Russia and Thailand, China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. BIS last renewed the orders in December 2023 (see 2312130011).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined Berlin-based Aiotec GmbH $14.55 million to settle allegations that it violated sanctions against Iran, OFAC said in a Dec. 3 enforcement notice. OFAC said the company, which sources industrial equipment for the energy sector, falsified documents and took other steps to hide that its purchase of an Australian industrial plant from a U.S. reseller would be moved to Iran.
The National Turkey Federation and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, announced this month that the U.S. has begun exporting turkey products to India thanks to a September 2023 trade agreement that called for the South Asian country to reduce tariffs on several food items, including frozen turkey (see 2309080049). The first shipment, which was provided by Virginia turkey farmers, recently left the U.S. from the Port of Virginia, the announcement says.
The Council of the European Union on Nov. 25 extended its sanctions regime pertaining to Turkey's unauthorized drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean in 2019 for another year. The restrictions now run until Nov. 30, 2025.
The U.S. this week sanctioned six people connected to the terror group Hamas, including by helping it smuggle weapons into Gaza or for coordinating with Russia.
The Bureau of Industry and Security and its technical advisory committees should do more public outreach to make sure companies are aware of important export control updates sometimes buried in Federal Register notices, a BIS committee heard last week. That outreach is especially critical for companies working with industrial chemical processing equipment, a committee member and industry lawyer said, which has commercial uses but is increasingly drawing BIS scrutiny for its military capabilities, including in chemical weapons.