The U.K. on June 26 renewed a general license authorizing certain humanitarian activity involving Syria and Turkey. The license, which allows the U.N., its programs and other entities specialized in humanitarian relief to provide relief to people in Syria and Turkey in response to the February 2023 earthquake, was extended through Feb. 14, 2025. The license was first issued in 2023 (see 2302160013) and was scheduled to expire Aug. 14 after being renewed in February (see 2402070010).
Russia has been able to sustain its war effort against Ukraine because of its ability to evade Western export controls on key military parts and semiconductors, said Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow with the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She said Russia is importing large amounts of controlled items from China and continuing to indirectly buy from Eastern European nations like Turkey through transshipment tactics and shell companies.
The EU this week unveiled its 14th sanctions package against Russia for its war on Ukraine, including new due diligence rules for companies with counterparties that may be selling to Russia. The package also includes new measures to prevent sanctions evasion, new import and export controls, a set of servicing restrictions on certain Russian energy shipments, designations of more than 100 people and entities, and more.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued two temporary denial orders last week as part of the Biden administration's latest package of Russia-related sanctions and export controls (see 2406120036), targeting companies and people in the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Turkey and Indonesia for sending export controlled items to Russia.
The U.S. government is sanctioning four people with links to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), including members of an ISIS-linked human smuggling network, the State and Treasury departments announced last week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security imposed a $285,000 civil penalty on Sapphire Havacilik San Ltd. to resolve allegations that the Turkey-based company flew a U.S.-origin Gulfstream aircraft on private charter flights into Russia without a required BIS reexport license, the agency announced June 13. The flights occurred in October 2023 and January 2024 and were arranged by Russian nationals.
The nearly 700 companies that the Bureau of Industry and Security has flagged for potentially sending export controlled goods to Russia include foreign suppliers in China, Turkey, India and others across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, according to a list obtained by Export Compliance Daily.
Lawmakers are proposing dozens of export control-, sanctions- and foreign investment-related amendments to the House version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including measures aimed at China, Iran and Russia.
The U.S. and other countries imposing sanctions and export controls on Russia need a more “aggressive” plan to cripple Moscow’s war effort, a group of researchers and economists said, including through tighter financial restrictions, new bans on Russian commodities and broader export controls. They also said American lawyers should have to follow strict due diligence and reporting rules when taking on clients with ties to Russia, and said the price cap on Russian oil should be lowered.
The Council of the European Union on May 28 renewed for another year its sanctions measures on Syria, also extending the humanitarian exemption in the restrictions regime. The sanctions now run until June 1, 2025, and cover 316 people and 86 entities. The humanitarian exemption was originally introduced in February 2023, following an earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. The council also removed five deceased people and "one other individual" from the sanctions list.