The Bureau of Industry and Security on March 30 added 73 new aircraft to its list of planes that have violated U.S. export controls by flying into Russia, including several aircraft owned by Russian cargo carriers. The list includes new planes owned by AirBridgeCargo, which calls itself Russia's largest cargo airline; Atran, a Moscow-based cargo airline; and other commercial or private aircraft owned by Aeroflot, Alrosa, Azur Air, Nordstar, Nordwind, Pegasfly, Pobeda, Rossiya, Royal Flight, S7 Airlines and Utair.
The U.S. can take several steps to increase its export control pressure against Russia, including expanding certain restrictions to capture a wider range of end-users in Russia beyond the military, said Matt Borman, a senior official at the Bureau of Industry and Security. Borman also stressed that Chinese companies on the Entity List still have much to lose if they aid Russia, including a complete ban from U.S. exports, financing and other services.
Proposed changes to the State Department’s defense export regulations, including a provision that would clarify definitions for “export” and “reexport,” received strong support from U.S. universities this month. The Association of University Export Control Officers said the proposed changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations will “make it simpler and more efficient for universities to remain compliant with” U.S. export regulations.
The past several weeks at U.S. sanctions agencies have ranked among the busiest times in recent memory, especially at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, where some employees are working nearly nonstop to implement and enforce new sanctions against Russia, former officials said in interviews. While some former officials said the extra work could shift minor projects to the side, lawyers are concerned it could also delay more pressing agency priorities, including licensing requests.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed by a week a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced March 25. The ports had planned to begin imposing the fee in November 2021 but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until April 1.
The U.S. and the EU last week announced a new initiative to reduce European dependency on Russian energy, in a bid to further isolate Moscow amid its war in Ukraine. The two sides will create a task force designed to stop European imports of Russian fossil fuels “as soon as possible,” a senior U.S. administration official said, which includes sourcing alternative energy supplies from third countries, including the U.S.
The Federal Maritime Commission has so far received mixed feedback on the possibility of new demurrage and detention billing requirements (see 2202070026), with shippers saying the rules are sorely needed and at least one carrier saying the industry shouldn’t face additional regulations.
The U.S. and Japan will raise the beef safeguard trigger level under the two countries’ trade deal, reducing the possibility that U.S. beef exporters will face higher tariffs when shipping to Japan, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said March 24. The deal now requires three separate triggers to be met before Japan can raise tariffs on imports of U.S. beef, giving U.S. exporters more “certainty” when trading with Japan, a senior USTR official said.
The Biden administration is emphasizing enforcement of Russia sanctions and export controls, making industry compliance with trade restrictions increasingly important, law firms said. Businesses should be taking several due diligence steps to avoid being caught in Russia-related sanctions evasion attempts, they said, and also can take action to protect their business operations in the Russia and Ukraine regions.
The State Department this week released its long-awaited rule to reorganize and consolidate definitions, guidance and authorities in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the first in a series of planned rules to restructure the ITAR. The interim final rule, released March 22 and effective Sept. 6, creates three new subparts outlining ITAR general information, general policies and processes, and definitions, a new structure that officials have said will improve the organization of the regulations. The agency is accepting public comments on the changes through May 9.