John Sullivan, former deputy secretary of state and U.S. ambassador to Russia, has rejoined Mayer Brown as a partner in the Washington, D.C., and New York offices, the firm announced. Sullivan's practice will center on issues relating to clients' business operations, "including global risk, US sanctions and export controls, international trade disputes and regulation, and foreign investment." Sullivan served as ambassador to Russia from 2020 to 2022 and as acting secretary of state from March to April 2018. He is also a distinguished fellow at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a distinguished senior fellow at Columbia University School of Law's National Security Law Program.
The U.K. updated its guidance on its Russian sanctions regime Jan. 5, the Export Control Joint Unit said. The guidance was changed to "clarify the application of prohibitions on the provision of technical assistance relating to, and making available or transferral of, aviation and space goods and technology or critical-industry goods and technology."
The Commerce Department published its fall 2022 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including one new rule that will finalize new chip export controls against China and others that could revise chemical weapons reporting requirements, the Export Administration Regulations and the Entity List.
Taiwan this week expanded its export controls against Russia and Belarus to cover a range of new items that may be used for Russia’s war in Ukraine, including “high-tech” military items. The island added 52 new items to the export control list, saying they are “primarily related” to “nuclear energy substances,” chemicals, machine tools and other “miscellaneous goods and materials.” The changes took effect Jan. 4.
The U.S. may consider new export controls to better prevent U.S. parts and components from being used in Iranian drones delivered to Russia, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said this week. Price's comments came the same day CNN reported that parts manufactured by more than a dozen U.S. and Western companies were found in an Iranian drone struck down in Ukraine last year.
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New Manufacturing USA Institutes can help the semiconductor industry reduce costs and accelerate innovation, particularly in emerging technology areas that could soon be subject to export controls, chip companies and industry representatives said in comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. They also said the Commerce Department should bar foreign entities from working with Manufacturing USA Institutes if they are subject to U.S. export restrictions or have operations in certain countries, including China.
The Congressional Research Service this month updated a report that provides an overview of U.S. sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The report details the various transactions and services that are subject to restrictions, as well as certain U.S. steps to sanction individual people and entities supporting Russia.
The U.K. on Dec. 28 amended one entry and corrected another under its Russia sanctions regime. The entry for Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar, an Iran-based manufacturer that produces unmanned aerial vehicles that are being shipped to Russia for the war in Ukraine, was amended to correct the spelling of its address. The entry for Said Mikhailovich Gutseriev was corrected to add Russian as his second nationality; he is also a British national.
The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, bought arms from North Korea to use in its war in Ukraine, Reuters reported last week. The report came the same day the Commerce Department announced new, stricter license requirements for exports to the Wagner Group, which were designed to limit the company’s ability to buy weapons for the Russian government (see 2212210080).