The U.S. announced a set of new export controls and sanctions against Russia last week, including new restrictions on luxury goods and full blocking sanctions on Russian government officials and bank executives. The measures, outlined in a March 11 executive order, also include new banking and financing-related restrictions meant to further cut Russia’s economy off from the global financial system and target Russian oligarchs.
Ukraine’s chief economic official this week called for maximum financial sanctions against Russia and a global embargo on the country's oil and energy products, saying the revenue is helping Russia’s military kill Ukrainian civilians. Oleg Ustenko, the chief economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also urged countries to send Ukraine more weapons and ammunition for its army.
The Commerce Department could impose strict export controls, including through the Entity List, on Chinese companies that violate U.S. export restrictions against Russia, agency officials said this week.
The U.S.’s new Russia export controls could lead to a short-term spike in license applications, but volumes will likely taper off later this year as businesses divest from Russia, said Nazak Nikakhtar, a former senior U.S. export control official.
As global trade restrictions against Russia continue to increase, some companies are grappling with whether to fully exit the Russian market or rely on sanctions screening and temporary carve-outs to keep their operations afloat, lawyers and experts said in interviews this month. But the risks for a majority of businesses are quickly becoming too high, especially as sanctions are expected to grow more punishing.
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 4. The ports originally planned to begin imposing the fee Nov. 15 but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until March 11.
The U.S. last week imposed new export controls on Russia’s oil refinery sector and added 91 entities to the Entity List for supporting Russian security efforts, building on a string of trade restrictions (see 2202240069 and 2203020072) meant to cut Russia off from importing goods to support and fund its military.
The Biden administration needs more funding to bolster its sanctions and export controls targeting Russia, the White House told Congress this week. The administration specifically asked for more resources for the Bureau of Industry and Security as it enforces dual-use export restrictions and more staff and funding for the Treasury Department for “sanctions targeting.”
While China may help Russia evade some export controls imposed by the U.S., the EU and others, the fear of secondary sanctions and other trade restrictions will likely deter it from providing significant help to Russia, said Emily Kilcrease, an energy, economics and security expert at the Center for a New American Security. Chinese companies could find themselves on the Entity List for aiding Russia’s export-control evasion efforts, Kilcrease said, and could also face strict trade restrictions by Europe.
The U.S. announced a host of new sanctions and export controls, including two new additions to the Entity List, to further penalize Russia and Belarus for the invasion of Ukraine. The measures place new restrictions on technology and software exports to Belarus, export controls on shipments of oil and gas extraction equipment to Russia, blocking sanctions on 22 Russian defense entities and a prohibition on Russian cargo planes flying to and from the U.S.