Sanctions and export controls on Russia are having an effect and policymakers should exercise patience and focus on enforcement going forward, experts said during a Jan. 31 discussion at the Atlantic Council. The event was a discussion of the impact of sanctions and export controls on the Russian economy.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's top export enforcement official is in Canada this week to discuss improving U.S.-Canadian enforcement efforts. Matthew Axelrod, BIS assistant secretary for export enforcement, said he’s meeting with the Canada Border Services Agency and the Global Affairs Canada Royal Canadian Mounted Police to share information on Russian “diversion actors,” coordinate the “targeting and conduct of pre- and post-shipment verifications and audits,” upgrade efforts to “inspect, detain, and seize illicit shipments,” and work to “reduce threats through coordinated outreach, investigations, and enforcement actions.”
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The EU extended its Russia sanctions regime for another six months, and they now will expire July 31, the European Council announced Jan. 27. The sanctions, while first introduced in 2014, were significantly expanded in February 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine and include a broad array of sectoral trade restrictions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week renewed its temporary denial order for a Venezuela-based cargo airline after saying it continues to try to violate U.S. export restrictions (see 2208030014). BIS said Empresa de Transporte Aereocargo del Sur, also known as Aerocargo del Sur Transportation or Emtrasur, has shown a “blatant disregard for U.S. export controls and the terms of a preexisting TDO.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., introduced bills last week to ban TikTok, the short-video platform owned by China-based Byte Dance. "Banning [Chinese Communist Party] tied TikTok nationwide is the only route to ending this malicious cybersecurity threat,” Buck said in a press release.
Japan last week strengthened its sanctions and export controls against Russia to better restrict sensitive technologies and align its controls with “measures taken by other major countries.” The new measures impose asset freezes on a range of people and entities involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine, restrictions on “capital transactions” with certain Russian people and entities and an export prohibition on shipments to 49 entities. Japan also said it will impose export controls on “dual-use items which could contribute to the development of military capacity.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security has drafted new guidance for its October rule that expanded certain China-related chip controls (see 2210070049) and hopes to release it soon, said Thea Kendler, the agency’s assistant secretary for export administration. Kendler, speaking during a virtual conference hosted by the Massachusetts Export Center last week, also touched on the rule’s expiring temporary general license and urged industry to submit feedback on the new restrictions before the deadline this week.
The U.S. this week expanded sanctions against Wagner Group and designated people, entities and aircraft linked to the Russian private military company. The designations will "degrade the Russian Federation’s capacity to wage war against Ukraine," the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a Jan. 26 news release, and target infrastructure that "supports battlefield operations in Ukraine," including weapons producers and administrators of Russian-occupied areas.
The U.S. should impose sanctions against China for allowing its companies to continue to supply semiconductors and other dual-use technologies to Russia, said Sen. Bob Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Although the U.S. has penalized specific Chinese companies for supplying Russia -- including new sanctions this week -- Menendez said he wants to see a more “robust” set of measures.