Stellantis may stop making cars in China, given rising geopolitical tensions and sanctions worries. Speaking to reporters at a Paris car show Oct. 17, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the automaker may roll out an "asset-light" strategy for its Peugeot and Citroen brands, importing to China cars made in Europe and the U.S., Bloomberg reported. Tavares' comments come after the company shuttered its only Jeep factory in China due to local political interference in the market (see 2207280018). Other car manufacturers, including Volkswagen and General Motors, are further expressing concerns over the Chinese market, wondering whether the sanctions hitting Russia could apply to China if it were to invade Taiwan, Bloomberg said.
Canada recently announced another set of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine, targeting 34 people and one entity that are “complicit” in spreading Russian propaganda. The designations, which target “disinformation agents,” are “responsible for spreading false narratives that serve as pretexts for the Russian regime’s unjustifiable war,” Canada said.
While the U.S. should pursue a new multilateral export control framework for advanced technologies (see 2206290032), it also shouldn’t lose sight of its trade dialogue with the EU, said Frances Burwell, an Atlantic Council expert, speaking during an Oct. 18 event hosted by the Center for a New American Security. She said both the U.S. and the EU should make sure their Trade and Technology Council “remains a bilateral organization” so they can achieve “concrete” agreements for a range of technology issues.
Switzerland added 30 individuals and seven entities to its Russia sanctions regime, bringing its list in concert with the EU's, the Swiss Federal Council announced. The newly listed parties were involved in the "referendums" organized by Russia in four areas of Ukraine. Switzerland said listed parties' assets must be frozen and reported to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and the restrictions already applicable to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions also will apply to Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
A U.S. network equipment company may have illegally supplied products to a sanctioned Russian firm, the company said in a recent SEC filing. Extreme Networks said a former employee who now works for a Russian distributor sought to sell its products to MMZ Avangard, a state-owned military firm. Extreme Networks said it’s conducting an internal investigation and has “notified” U.S. regulators.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a temporary denial order for Russian airline Ural Airlines after it violated U.S. export controls by flying multiple aircraft to Russia, BIS said. Under the order, Ural Airlines’ export privileges will be revoked for at least 180 days.
Groups of European countries not in the EU aligned themselves with three of the bloc's recent sanctions moves, the European Council announced. On Oct. 6, the council barred individuals and entities from providing technical assistance, brokering services, financing or insurance to any third country ships carrying Russian oil above the price cap. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway aligned with the decision, the council said Oct. 13.
Russian semiconductor imports have dropped 70% since the country became subject to broad Western sanctions and export controls earlier this year, the Commerce, Treasury and State departments said in a joint alert last week. The alert, which provides an overview of the U.S. restrictions, said the measures are having "significant and long-lasting consequences on Russia’s defense industrial base," which relies extensively on foreign-sourced items, especially on imported microelectronics. Russia's semiconductor shortage has also dramatically dropped automobile and consumer electronics production, the alert said. Sanctions and export controls have resulted in "a sharp economic contraction for Russia" that will continue to drag on the Russian economy for years, the alert said.
John Carlin, former acting deputy attorney general at DOJ, has joined Paul Weiss as co-head of the Cybersecurity & Data Protection practice and partner in the Litigation Department, the firm announced. Carlin's practice will focus on cyber incident responses, crisis management, national security issues, white collar defense and the work of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., the firm said. At DOJ, he held the acting deputy AG position from January to April 2021, later serving as principal associate deputy AG under Deputy AG Lisa Monaco and AG Merrick Garland. Carlin's work centered on oversight of the FBI, leading an initiative to stop corporate crime, and cracking down on individuals and entities helping Russia evade sanctions, the firm said.
The top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said the administration has "a strong case for what they're doing" in restricting U.S. technology that aids the Chinese semiconductor industry (see 2210070049), but he questions how effective it will be unless the Netherlands and Japan go along.