Export Controls and Sanctions

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On April 8, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID) announced a bipartisan agreement on a wide-ranging strategic approach towards China.  The Strategic Competition Act of 2021 addresses economic competition with China, as well as humanitarian, national security, and democracy-related issues.  Most significantly, the bill, if enacted, stands…

Today, the Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to eliminate most reporting requirements related to open source encryption software and certain “mass market” encryption items.  Today’s rule also revises the Commerce Control List (CCL) to implement updates from the December 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) Plenary meeting.

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Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) further escalated sanctions on Burma by adding two large Burmese military holding companies to its List of Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs”).  Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (“MEHL”) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (“MEC”) both dominate large sectors of the Burmese economy,…

Last week, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a settlement agreement with UniControl, Inc. (UniControl or “the company”) for shipping goods to European trading partners when UniControl knew or should have known that some of its products would ultimately be re-exported to Iran.  The enforcement action is a reminder that OFAC expects U.S.…

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) imposed additional export control restrictions on Myanmar (Burma) in response to the recent military coup in that country.  BIS previewed the new restrictions in an announcement last month when the U.S. imposed sanctions on the country’s military leadership.  Today’s changes include the following:

  1. BIS added the

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Today, the United States announced new targeted sanctions, export control restrictions, and an arms embargo on Russia after the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.  All three of the agencies with primary authority to regulate exports – the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) at the State Department, the Bureau of Industry…

Today, President Biden issued an Executive Order (E.O.) that authorizes new U.S. sanctions on Burma in response to the recent military coup in that country.  The E.O. allows the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to impose sanctions on the country’s military leadership and could lead to broader sanctions on government-controlled ministries and companies…

On January 15, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an Interim Final Rule to implement new end-user and end use controls mandated by the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA).

Most notably, the rule adds a new control that will require U.S. persons to obtain a license before “supporting” certain “military-intelligence”…

Effective January 14, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced amendments to Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to implement the rescission of Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.  The U.S. Department of State removed Sudan’s designation effective December 14, 2020.

The changes to the EAR remove export control licensing requirements for many exports…

Today, the Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) added China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. (CNOOC) to the U.S. Entity List.  Under the new rule, U.S. and non-U.S. exporters are generally prohibited from transferring items subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to CNOOC without first obtaining a U.S. export license.  As noted in…