The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned a network of people, companies and ships that it said are moving millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil to China on behalf of the Iranian military and a sanctioned front company, Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars (see 2311290034).
The Trump administration should build on a January move by President Joe Biden that was designed to ease how the government authorizes transfers of missile technology-related exports to close allies, said Sean Wilson, a non-resident aerospace policy researcher with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Vice President JD Vance swore in former Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as secretary of state Jan. 21, a day after the Senate voted unanimously to approve Rubio's nomination. On the first day in his new role, Rubio was scheduled to meet with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan. At his Jan. 15 confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio defended the role of sanctions and said he hopes to reverse a decline in the State Department’s influence in foreign policy-making (see 2501150066).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 27 technology companies to the Entity List, mostly in China, for helping Beijing make or procure advanced semiconductors or for supporting the country’s military modernization efforts through AI, the agency said in two final rules released Jan. 15 and effective Jan. 16. It’s also removing three entities tied to an Indian atomic energy agency.
The U.S. announced a host of new sanctions against Russia’s energy sector last week, targeting major Russian oil producers, oil service providers and insurance companies, as well as vessels and traders moving Russian oil as part of the country’s shadow fleet. The Office of Foreign Assets Control also issued two new determinations that authorize sanctions against any person or entity with ties to Russia’s energy sector and that block the provision of U.S. petroleum services to parties in Russia, and it announced it will soon be ending a general license that had authorized certain Russia-related energy payments.
China will impose security deposits on imported cypermethrin from India with respect to an antidumping duty investigation on the product, effective Jan. 8, according to an unofficial translation of a Ministry of Commerce notice. The investigation authority preliminarily determined that the domestic cypermethrin industry is harmed by dumped imports from India. Imports from Indian companies will be subject to a deposit rate based on the “dutiable price approved by the customs,” China said. The ministry said cypermethrin is used in agricultural insecticides.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's upcoming export controls on advanced AI-related semiconductors will introduce expansive compliance hurdles and sales limitations that will hurt American firms and could push U.S. allies to work closer with China, a major technology think tank and a leading semiconductor industry group said this week.
India and Madagascar recently launched new safeguard investigations, the nations told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards. India opened a proceeding on non-alloy and alloy steel flat products. Madagascar opened an investigation on tomato products. India said interested parties had 15 days from Dec. 19 to make their views heard. Madagascar gave parties until Jan. 21 to make themselves known.
The U.K. government is now recommending -- but not mandating -- that companies insert “no-Russia” clauses in their contracts, saying those clauses could help shield exporters and sellers against sanctions risks. It also published guidance about the specific steps companies can take to carry out export due diligence, which goods and countries face a higher risk of Russia-related sanctions-evasion, red flags to monitor, and more.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed export control topics with several senior Indian officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as part of a broader meeting on technology issues Jan. 6 in New Delhi, the White House said.