A new blog post from the Treasury Department highlights the impacts that U.S. sanctions and export controls are having on Russia’s economy, outlining how the country’s “macroeconomic performance is suffering” and its policy responses to Western sanctions are “growing increasingly expensive.” The blog describes some of the issues that have contributed to Russia’s contracting economy, its difficulty in sourcing parts and components for its military, the “volatility” of its exchange rate and more. Russia has the resources to “maintain its war in the short-term,” Treasury said, but “its leaders face increasingly painful trade[-]offs that will sacrifice long-term prospects -- as underinvestment, slow productivity growth, and labor shortages will only deepen.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week again renewed temporary denial orders for three Russian airlines (see 2206240051) that it said continue to illegally operate aircraft on flights into and out of Russia. The agency renewed denial orders for Siberian Airlines, Pobeda Airlines and Nordwind Airlines for one year from this week. The orders were previously renewed for 180 days, but BIS requested a longer extension because the airlines continue to "act in blatant disregard for U.S. export controls and the terms of previously issued TDOs," including by operating flights between Russia and Dubai, Istanbul, Minsk, Beijing and Bangkok.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is working more closely with the Office of Foreign Assets Control on enforcement issues, which could allow the two agencies to better align the BIS Entity List and OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals List, a BIS official said this week.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. this week sanctioned more than 250 people and companies supplying Russia’s military in violation of U.S. sanctions and export controls, targeting procurement networks in China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere. The Treasury and State departments said many of the newly sanctioned companies supplied Russia with goods listed on the Commerce Department’s list of common high-priority items, including electronic components, while others sold Russia advanced weapons and military technology.
The European Council this week added to its sanctions regimes for Iran and Myanmar and extended its restrictions on Mali for another year.
The U.K. this week unveiled a new agency that it said will boost enforcement of its Russia sanctions and "clamp down on companies dodging" those restrictions, the Department for Business and Trade announced. The new Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation also will help the government issue "tougher penalties" for trade sanctions violations and refer cases for criminal enforcement.
The U.S., the U.K. and Canada last week issued a range of new sanctions to mark the internationally recognized Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, designating people across more than 10 jurisdictions for their ties to human rights violations. They include U.S. sanctions against Chinese officials with ties to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, including one designated under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act.
The U.K. this week designated 25 people and 20 entities under its Russia sanctions regime. The listings included a mix of businesses based in Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Serbia and Uzbekistan, covering industries in the energy, shipping and defense sectors. Among those sanctioned was Russian firm Aeroscan, which was designated for supplying drones to the Russian military, along with Dubai-based shipping companies Radiating World Shipping Services and Star Voyages Shipping services, which do business in a Russian "sector of strategic significance."
The Biden administration should sanction Russian weapons manufacturer JSC Alabuga, which is receiving help from Iran to produce its own version of Iran’s Shahed-136 kamikaze drone, known as the Geran-2, on Russian soil, according to Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.