Compliance departments need to be increasingly “creative” to catch goods or transactions that may be tied to Russian sanctions evasion, an industry official and former Treasury Department official said this week, especially as the U.S. and its allies ramp up enforcement. They also said compliance is growing more complex, particularly for financial institutions, which must meet expanding government expectations outlined in joint alerts recently published by the Commerce and Treasury departments.

The U.S. may run into challenges enforcing aspects of its new outbound investment restrictions on China, especially for intercompany transfers and investments, Sarah Bauerle Danzman, a former State Department official, said during a webinar hosted by the Center for a New American Security last week. She said investors will likely need more guidance on the issue whenever the Treasury Department releases regulations for the regime.

The Bureau of Industry and Security last week expanded the scope of its nuclear-related export controls on China and Macau, saying the change was necessary to impose tighter license requirements on items that could “contribute to nuclear activities of concern.” The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also suspended a general license that had authorized exports of certain nuclear items for nuclear end uses in China.

Lawmakers, business groups and think tanks gave a mixed bag of immediate feedback on the Biden administration’s executive order restricting outbound investments in China, with some applauding the government’s initial, cautious approach, and others expressing frustration that the restrictions don’t go far enough.

The Census Bureau is moving forward with a new data element in the Automated Export System that shippers must report when exporting items classified under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI. The agency didn’t list any public comments objecting to the change that it proposed in May (see 2305020007), which Census said will help it collect more data on Category XXI exports and defense services that are “not otherwise enumerated” under other USML categories.

The Biden administration this week unveiled its plans for a new outbound investment screening regime, which will restrict investments in three advanced technology sectors in China and set notification requirements for other sensitive outbound investments. The new screening regime, outlined in an executive order signed Aug. 9 by President Joe Biden, will come into force after the Treasury Department writes regulations. The agency is soliciting public comments on how it should implement the program, set certain definitions, impose due diligence requirements and more as part of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking released along with the order.

CBP plans to form a “dedicated” outbound oversight office after the Office of Inspector General said the agency's existing infrastructure may be causing it to miss inspections of illegal exports.

The State Department this week announced penalties on one person and four entities and their subsidiaries for illegal transfers under the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act. The agency in a notice said the parties transferred items subject to multilateral control lists that contribute to weapons proliferation or missile production. The State Department barred them from making certain purchases of items controlled on the U.S. Munitions List and by the Arms Export Control Act and will suspend any current export licenses used by the entities. The agency also will bar them from receiving new export licenses for any goods subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The restrictions will remain in place for two years from the July 19 effective date.

The U.S. shouldn’t scrap its Science and Technology Agreement (STA) with China when it expires later this month, and should instead update the deal to better address areas for cooperation around critical technologies, former U.S. officials and technology policy experts said this week. But they also acknowledged that continuing the agreement could be challenging, particularly because of rising tensions between the two sides along with a congressional push to restrict more American technology from being shared with Beijing.

The U.S. last week said it isn’t renewing a June general license that authorized certain transactions with two Myanmar banks. The State Department on Aug. 4 said it plans to let the license -- which covered U.S.-sanctioned Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank, Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and their subsidiaries -- expire Aug. 5 at 12:01 am. “We will pursue enforcement actions as appropriate,” the agency said.