Following on the Commerce Department's modification of dual-use export controls for alliance partners [ Link ],  the US Departemnt of State proposes to amend the International Traffic in Arms …

May 1 the Treasury Department issued sanctions targeting Russia’s military-industrial base and chemical and biological weapons programs,  as well as companies and individuals in third countries that help Russia acquire key inputs for weapons or defense-related production. The action includes nearly 60 targets located in Azerbaijan, Belgium, the PRC, Russia, Slovakia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  

On 1 May, the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) introduced Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), a new form of additional guidance aimed at providing technical support to industry partners and the public. 

The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced that Williams-Sonoma Inc.  has agreed to a settlement that requires it to pay more than $3 million in civil …

It is premature to declare Nippon Steel's bid to buy US Steel dead,, despite election year politics driving acerbic scrutiny from Labor and legislators. Tuesday, the United Steelworkers scoffed at Nippon Steel's overtures to the union, calling them "nothing more than another collection of empty promises and open-ended language that would enable it to skirt obligations to workers and retirees."

On April 22, 2024, Canada announced the implementation of a Federal Plastic Registry to monitor the types and volumes of plastic products, including plastic packaging used in agriculture and food manufacturing, through their life cycle on the Canadian market. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced the establishment of Federal Plastics Registry to require plastic resin manufacturers, producers of plastic products (including importers), and service providers to report each year, starting in 2025, on the quantity and types of plastic they place on the market and how that plastic moves through the economy.

The New Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) promises to continue the Committee's role as a spotlight, though perhaps with less  candlepower than his predecessor, retiring Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI)

The European Parliament has adopted a package of laws strengthening the EU’s toolkit to fight money-laundering and terrorist financing. The new laws ensure that people with a legitimate interest, including journalists, media professionals, civil society organisations, competent authorities, and supervisory bodies, will have immediate, unfiltered, direct and free access to beneficial ownership information held in national registries and interconnected at EU level. In addition to current information, the registries will also include data going back at least five years.

Friday the Department of Commerce released an interim final rule amending the Department’s licensing policy for exports of firearms, ammunition, and related components under its jurisdiction. Coming on the six-month anniversary of a controversial "90 day pause" in firearms export license approval, the new rule proposes significant changes.

Included among the munitions and TikTok drama, the foreign aid package signed last week has material changes for the sanctions compliance practitioner. Front and center for sanctions practitioners is the extension of the statute of limitations for sanctions (SOL) violations.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is sanctioning over one dozen entities, individuals, and vessels that have played a central role in facilitating and financing the clandestine sale …

The European Parliament has given its final approval to a new regulation enabling the EU to prohibit the sale, import, and export of goods made using forced labour. Originally proposed in 2021, the rulemaking had been stymied by resistance from industry groups, with the final result lacking much of the efficacy of the US version, the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act.

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) makes changes to the Russia and Belarus sanctions under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add a new license exception for EAR99 medical devices and related parts, components, accessories, and attachments for use in or with medical devices that are destined for both countries and the temporarily occupied Crimea region of Ukraine, or the covered regions of Ukraine. The purpose of this final rule is to authorize under a license exception certain exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) of “medical devices” that are being regularly approved and that advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. In addition, this final rule makes two corrections to the EAR related to Russia-related rules published in January, and March, 2024 by correcting an end-user control and adding a cross-reference correction.

A federal jury in Miami has convicted the former Comptroller General of Ecuador  for his role in a multimillion-dollar international bribery and money laundering scheme. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between 2010 to 2015, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni, 73, solicited and received over $10 million in bribe payments from Odebrecht S.A., the Brazil-based construction conglomerate.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and Kenyan Cabinet Secretary of Information, Communication and the Digital Economy Eliud Owalo "affirmed their shared priorities for strengthening the digital economy, promoting innovation, and increasing digital trade and investment between the United States and Kenya," according to a readout from the Commerce Department, At the Wednesday meeting the principals "reaffirmed their intention to cooperate on establishing interoperable privacy regimes and facilitating trusted cross-border data flows." Later Secretary Raimondo hosted a roundtable discussion with several leading women technology leaders in Kenya to "discuss the Biden-Harris Administration’s Digital Transformation with Africa initiative"

Tuesday the Treasury Department announced sanctions on Iranian cyber actors and representatives of Islamist extremists responsible for taking hostage U.S. nationals.

The Justice Department today announced the unsealing of an indictment charging 10 defendants in a scheme to illegally procure aircraft parts, including Honeywell Turbofan Engines, from the United States to service PDVSA’s aircraft fleet in Venezuela, in violation of U.S. sanctions and export controls.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division announced the outlines of a voluntary self-disclosure progam in a statement Monday …

For the first time in fifteen years, the State Department is proposing to revise and increase the registration fees for those required to register with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls …

The United States and Mexico Monday announced a course of remediation to address denials of rights at the RV Fresh Foods facility, which produces guacamole in the state of Michoacán. This case is the first time the United States has used the mechanism in the food manufacturing sector. It is also the first time both the United States and Mexico have identified violations related to the conduct of the petitioning union.