The Treasury Department’s decision to end an exemption for certain Russia-related debt payments will cause the Russian government to default, the White House said last week. Treasury announced May 24 it would allow the license to expire, ending transactions necessary for dealings in debt or equity with Russia’s Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs Vnesheconombank, Bank Otkritie Financial, Sovcombank, Sberbank of Russia and VTB Bank (see 2205240054).
The U.S. plans to build on and improve its export controls and investment screening measures to keep China from acquiring sensitive technologies, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Blinken, in a speech outlining the Biden administration’s China policy, also urged industry to reassess whether the price of doing business in China is worth the benefits and to work with the administration to push back against Beijing's unfair market practices.
The U.S. asked for formal dispute consultations with Canada, as it believes that the federal notice that Canada issued about changes in how it administers dairy tariff rate quotas do not comply with the dispute panel's criticisms.
The European Commission this week announced two new proposals to harmonize how member states penalize sanctions violations and to modernize the EU’s recovery rules for sanctioned assets. The measures will help the EU better target and punish sanctions evaders, said Vera Jourova, the commission’s vice president for values and transparency. “The violation of EU sanctions is a serious crime and must come with serious consequences,” Jourova said. “We need EU-wide rules to establish that.”
Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said his top long-term priority is building a new multilateral export control regime, and he urged industry to continue considering diversifying away from China and Russia. He also said BIS is working hard to control emerging and foundational technologies and welcomes more input from industry, academia and think tanks.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week finalized its new controls on cybersecurity items, making several changes to the rule’s language and addressing some questions from the public comment period. The changes include revisions to the definition of “government end user” and other actions to “clarify the scope of controls,” BIS said in a final rule effective May 26.
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 the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. and other techno-democracies should capitalize on their closely coordinated Russia sanctions work to create a new multilateral export control group, said two experts with Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. A new regime, which would include a range of technology-producing nations that share democratic values, would help those countries address technology proliferation issues that existing regimes can not.
A half-dozen countries that negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- including two that never ratified it -- and Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and India agreed to start negotiating agreements with the United States on trade, supply chains, digital standards, anti-corruption, and tax and investment from the U.S. for decarbonization and infrastructure.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's upcoming shift in its administrative enforcement policies could signal a more aggressive posture toward cracking down on illegal exports and may change how companies voluntarily disclose violations, a former BIS agent said. But some lawyers say the policies could represent a minor shift, and it may be too early to tell how they will affect compliance decisions.