A renewed urgency has gripped Capitol Hill's China hawks to call for the Chief of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) to report on patents issued to Chinese inventors. In place since the Carter Administration and renewed every five years, the United States - China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) "is a vector to give the PRC access to U.S. dual-use research and presents a clear national security risk...The Biden Administration must stop fueling our own destruction and allow the STA to expire," the lawmakers write.
Central Washington Republican Dan Newhouse (R-WA) continues his efforts to limit Chinese land purchases, introducing the ‘No American Land for Communist China Act’’. This bill would prohibit any agent of the government of the PRC, or any business with respect to which the Gov- ernment of the PRC owns 25 percent or more of the equity interests of the business, from purchasing land adjacent to federal land in the U.S, including Indian Country.
To support the Department's announcement of over 300 new sanctions Wednesday, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is publishing Determinations, General Licenses and FAQs relating to trade with Russia and Belarus
In coordination with the Departments of Treasury and State, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is announcing several significant additional export control restrictions and related actions against Russia.. Among the actions is the issuance of a final rule imposing additional export control measures against Russia and Belarus by expanding the scope of items identified under two EAR supplements that are subject to the EAR’s Russian and Belarusian industry sector sanctions; imposing a “software” license requirement for certain EAR99-designated “software” when destined to or within Russia or Belarus; and narrowing the scope of commodities and software that may be authorized for export, reexport, or transfer (in- country) to or within Russia or Belarus under License Exception Consumer Communications Devices (CCD).
The Treasury and State Departments are issuing sweeping new measures guided by G7 commitments to intensify the pressure on Russia for its continued war against Ukraine. Wednesday's actions ratchet up the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign financial institutions that deal with Russia’s war economy; restrict the ability of Russian military-industrial base to take advantage of certain U.S. software and information technology (IT) services; and, together with the Department of State, target more than 300 individuals and entities.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on BMW to provide straight answers about its use of parts made by a banned Chinese supplier, following shifting explanations from the German automaker in response to a Finance Committee Democratic staff investigation. “The Committee is continuing to investigate several aspects of BMW’s exposure to forced labor through JWD, its tier 3 supplier,” the Senator wrote in a letter to the automaker.
Canadian helmet manufacturer Galvion, Ltd. has agreed to pay $2,495,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act through the knowing sale of non-conforming parts to the United States Department of Defense. Through prime vendors, the company sold products to the United States under a Defense Logistics Agency program which requires that textiles be sourced from the United States in accordance with the Berry Amendment. The investigation stemmed from a complaint made to the DLA Hotline related to the origin of materials used in the company’s products.
A dual U.S.-Russian citizen pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act by exporting firearm parts, components, and ammunition to Russia without the required authorization. Dimitry Timashev, 58, coordinated with an associate in Russia to send weapon parts from the United States to Russia. In exchange, the associate paid tuition for Timashev’s daughter and rent for an apartment in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
At the IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum participants "identified $23 billion of priority infrastructure projects for consideration" at the inaugural meeting in Singapore June 6. Among the major committments announced were cloud computing, data center and submarine cable projects, India's first battery energy storage system, a carbon capture scheme in Singapore, and several hundred million dollars of U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) funding to investment funds in the region.
Congressional Republican China hawks have called for a comprehensive ban on trade and investment dealings with two leading manufacturers of electric vehicle battery systems, Led by the new Chair of the House Select China Committee John Moolenaar (R-MI), the lawmakers wrote letters detailing "shocking new evidence implicating major Chinese battery manufacturers, Gotion and CATL, in Chinese Communist Party state-sponsored slave labor and the ongoing Uyghur genocide." The letters to Mr. Silvers detail supply relationships between the two firms and mineral, metals and labor providers currently under US sanction for their involvement in modern slavery in the Xinjiang Uyghur Region of Western China.
A federal grand jury charged a New York man in a three-count indictment alleging he illegally shipped eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles, both protected wildlife species, from the United States to China for the global pet trade black market.
Tim O’Toole of Miller & Chevalier sat down with Erich Ferrari of Ferrari & Associates to discuss demystifying the OFAC delisting process, and avoiding thst sanction in the first place.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is materially amending the Syrian Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 542. In addition to new prohibitions, OFAC is adding several relevant definitions and interpretations and one new general license. OFAC is also incorporating, with amendments, one general license; updating six general licenses; and publishing a list of areas in which activities are authorized under General License 22.
The Five Eyes Security Alliance issued a joint bulletin warning about continued efforts by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to recruit current and former Western military personnel to train the PRC military. "The most sought-after targets to-date have been military pilots, flight engineers, and air operations center personnel. The PRC has also targeted technical experts with insight into Western military tactics, techniques, and procedures," according to the bulletin.
This report documents defense articles and defense services licensed for permanent export to each foreign country and international organization during fiscal year 2023.
The Department of Commerce seeks public comment to inform its work on assessing and analyzing risk in global supply chains. The deadline is June 21. This includes input into a determination of an initial list of “critical sectors” and “key goods” as provided under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience.
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) imposed a civil penalty against Airbus DS Government Solutions Inc., a Texas-based satellite communications and networking systems company for shipping trade show materials to Kuwait certifying that the goods were not of Israeli origin and not manufactured by a company on the “Israeli Boycott Blacklist.” In November 2023 BIS announced a civil penalty of $44,750 against Forta LLC (Forta), a manufacturer of synthetic reinforcement fibers, for similar trade show infractions
Ericsson announced the conclusion of the work and term of the independent compliance Monitor appointed by the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) in June of 2020 in connection with Ericsson’s 2019 Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) to resolve historical violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The March 2023 Plea Agreement with the DOJ that followed non-criminal breaches of the DPA has also expired as of June 2.
A bipartisian gropu of China hawks on Capitol Hill sent sent a letter to MSCI's President Henry Fernandez outlining "significant concerns" after the firm removed its forced labor red flag for Volkswagen's factory in China. The Volkswagen factory in Xinjiang is known for using Uyghur forced labor, This led MSCI, an American finance company, to grant Volkswagen a “red flag” rating in 2022. However, MSCI , relying on an audit the lawmakers describe as "flawed," made the decision to lift Volkswagen’s “red flag” rating.
The US Export-Import Bank has failed to make an impact on trade and investment in sub-Saharan Africa, despite a congressional mandate for expansion and extensive overseas travel by EXIM President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Reta Jo Lewis.