A new joint document issued by several Cabinet agencies last week provides guidance on Iran’s drone procurement activities and highlights due diligence policies, compliance structures and internal controls companies should be using to prevent illegal exports. The departments of the Treasury, Commerce, Justice and State said it’s “critical that private industry be aware of its legal obligations vis-à-vis entities and items involved in such procurement efforts,” adding that violators could be subject to fines, criminal penalties and suspensions of export privileges.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week suspended export privileges of Aratos Group, a collection of defense and technology companies in the Netherlands and Greece, and its owner for procuring goods for Russian intelligence services in violation of U.S. export controls. BIS also renewed a temporary denial order against three people and two companies also involved in a Russian sanctions evasion scheme.
German container shipper Hamburg Sud must pay nearly $10 million to OJ Commerce, an American e-commerce business, after Hamburg retaliated against OJC for threatening to file a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission, the FMC’s administrative law judge ruled June 7. The massive fine came after the FMC said Hamburg Sud, owned by major shipping line Maersk, violated the Shipping Act’s anti-retaliation provision and refused to fulfill contract terms.
The delays at ports on the West Coast have been "a lot more noise than impact," affecting only a few terminals at a time for short periods, said Nathan Strang, director of ocean freight for U.S. Southwest and small and medium-sized businesses for Flexport, during a webinar June 8.
The European Union needs to better coordinate with its member states on potential export controls against China’s chip industry, said Noah Barkin, a Europe-China relations expert with the Rhodium Group. Barkin, speaking during a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing this week, said the EU is still grappling with how to best impose dual-use export controls and isn’t yet at a place where it can match U.S. restrictions.
Technology academics and industry officials this week cautioned Congress about potential U.S. export controls over quantum technologies and research, saying new restrictions without clear guidance could hamper U.S. competitiveness and innovation. But one current government official suggested the administration needs to be more “proactive” in protecting the most sensitive research from being stolen.
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The U.S. announced new sanctions this week against people and entities in China, Hong Kong and Iran for helping Iran procure “sensitive and critical parts and technology” for its ballistic missile programs. The “network” has also helped the Iranian government conduct financial transactions in support of its missile development efforts and aided the country’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), as well as other affiliated procurement organizations, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said.
The U.S. should push the World Trade Organization to end trade-related intellectual property waiver conditions, experts told a House subcommittee this week, saying the waiver may help China acquire sensitive U.S. technologies and leapfrog American innovation in biopharma. Several experts during the hearing suggested the waivers could act as a loophole to U.S. export controls and allow Chinese companies to better compete with the U.S. in the biotechnology industry.
The U.S. and its allies should tighten export restrictions on artificial intelligence technologies destined to China, said Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla.. Waltz, speaking during a June 5 event hosted by the Atlantic Council, said America and its close trading partners need to “collaborate and innovate within a bubble that can be protected,” adding that cutting off technology trade with China will be inevitable. “I just don't see a way forward without decoupling,” he said.