U.S. sanctions and export control agencies this week warned foreign companies about the risks they may face for poor compliance with U.S. trade rules, saying the government can pursue civil and criminal penalties against businesses for a range of transactions that take place outside U.S. borders. The new “tri-seal compliance note” published by DOJ, the Commerce Department and the Treasury Department includes a list of activities that most commonly place foreign firms at risk, outlines how U.S. export licensing requirements can apply to shipments through third countries, and summarizes recent enforcement actions taken by all three agencies to punish violators.

The Group of 7 should expand membership and use the forum to create a new multilateral export control regime for critical and emerging technologies, which could help replace the outdated Wassenaar Arrangement, said Emily Benson, a trade and technology policy expert. She said G7 nations are open to the idea, although she believes the U.S. hasn’t yet decided on the best path forward.

The European Council and Parliament reached a deal on a new set of rules to ban imports suspected of being made with forced labor, including how the ban will be enforced and how the bloc will investigate and penalize violations.

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The U.S. this week repealed its sanctions authority for Zimbabwe and instead announced new designations under its Global Magnitsky human rights program, part of an effort to highlight the people and entities most responsible for abuses and corruption in the country, the Treasury Department said.

The compromise six-bill appropriations package that congressional negotiators unveiled March 3 contains $191 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security in FY 2024, the same as the FY 2023 enacted level and $31 million below the Biden administration’s request.

The U.S. is hoping to use export controls to better place restrictions around transfers of sensitive technology information, said Bonnie Jenkins, the State Department’s undersecretary for arms control and international security. Jenkins, who is leading the agency’s effort to implement the AUKUS trilateral security partnership between Australia, the U.S. and the U.K., said the three countries need to be diligent about stopping “information getting out.”

Several companies recently disclosed potential export control or sanctions violations or updated the status of their current disclosures, including several technology businesses, a pharmaceutical company and a cryptocurrency software platform company. The disclosures describe potential violations of U.S. sanctions against several countries -- including Russia, Iran and North Korea -- and one company receiving a no-action letter from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The State Department fined Boeing $51 million after the company allegedly violated a range of U.S. export controls, including license requirements for exports to China and Russia. The violations, which Boeing voluntarily disclosed, included illegal exports to foreign employees and contractors working in more than 15 countries; a trade compliance specialist fabricating an export license to illegally ship defense items abroad; and violations of the terms and conditions of other export licenses, among other things.

Companies should continue to see more Chinese additions to the U.S. Entity List this year, although Russia sanctions likely will continue to dominate the government’s time and resources, trade lawyers said this week.