The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) has announced that SCG Plastics Co., Ltd., which it describes as being part of a Thai-headquartered multinational enterprise headquartered that sells plastic resins, ‘has agreed to pay $20,000,000 to settle its potential civil liability for 467 apparent violations of OFAC sanctions on Iran.’ OFAC said that from 2017 to 2018, ‘SCG Plastics caused U.S. financial institutions to process $291 million in wire transfers for sales of Iranian-origin high-density polyethylene resin (HDPE) manufactured by a joint venture in Iran owned by, among others, SC ..read more

The European Union is discussing fresh sanctions on Iran, targeting the production and export of missiles and drones, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief has said. ‘We are going to take measures with respect to the production, and exports of missiles and drones,’ Josep Borrell said as he arrived for an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg, 22 April. ‘There is a great package of sanctions.’ The sanctions would also cover Iranian drone and missile deliveries not only to Russia but also to proxies in the region, Borrell was reported as saying. The EU had warned it would impose more sanctions ..read more

The US government has said that as part of efforts ‘to counter the ongoing proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware’ as documented in its 22 April-published Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, it is ‘taking steps to impose visa restrictions on 13 individuals who have been involved in the development and sale of commercial spyware or who are immediate family members of those involved.’ While it has not named those to whom the restrictions apply (nor has it named the countries with which they’re associated) it says, ‘These individuals have facilitated or derived financial benefit fr ..read more

The US Bureau of Industry and Security has introduced a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (‘EAR’) which are intended to strengthen export controls against the military capabilities of Russia and Iran. The new rule ‘expands the list of items included in supplement no. 7 to part 746 to include additional items that are critical to Iran and Russia’s weapons programs,’ BIS said in a notice in the Federal Register, 22 April. It notes that, while BIS’s controls cover a ‘vast array of items necessary to the defense industries of Iran and Russia’, certain items ‘are more signif ..read more

The European Parliament has given the final green light to a new regulation banning products made with forced labour. ‘If a product is deemed to have been made using forced labour, it will no longer be possible to sell it on the EU market (including online) and shipments will be intercepted at the EU’s borders,’ the EU Parliament said, 23 April. ‘Manufacturers of banned goods will have to withdraw their products from the EU single market and donate, recycle or destroy them. Non-compliant companies could be fined. The goods may be allowed back on the EU single market once the company eliminates ..read more

Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has joined six fellow Republicans in calling on President Biden to not renew General License 44, Authorizing Transactions Related to Oil or Gas Sector Operations in Venezuela when it comes up for renewal on 18 April. The lawmakers said that sanctions relief should be tied to progress on the agreement signed by President Nicolas Maduro’s government and the opposition in October, calling for free and fair elections this year. However, Maduro’s government, which the US does not recognise, has cracked down on opposition ..read more

The European Union is criminalising sanctions breaches with new legislation under which ‘member states must ensure that violating EU sanctions is punishable by effective and proportionate criminal penalties.’ The EU Council said, 12 April, ‘Certain actions will now be considered criminal offences in all member states, for example helping to bypass a travel ban, trading in sanctioned goods or performing prohibited financial activities. Inciting, aiding and abetting these offences can also be penalised. ‘Member states must ensure that violating EU sanctions is punishable by effective and proport ..read more

The United States and Canada have imposed separate sanctions against nearly two dozen Belarus-related targets, designated over support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, human rights violations, and in relation to the 2020 crackdown on dissent that gave President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. The US Treasury Department announced, 15 April, it was designating one entity and five individuals for facilitating sanctions evasion for a major Belarusian defence enterprise; six revenue-generating state-owned enterprises; and five entities and five individuals involved in a global arms network ..read more

The United States, European Union and Germany have called for expanded sanctions against Iran, following its retaliatory drone-and-missile attacks on Israel in response to an Israeli strike on an Iranian Embassy compound in Damascus. ‘In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry,’ US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, 16 April. ‘We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be f ..read more

China has vented its ire over US arms sales to Taiwan by imposing sanctions on senior executives of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which manufactures unmanned aerial systems, and military vehicle maker General Dynamics Land Systems. ‘The continued U.S. arms sales to China’s Taiwan region seriously violate the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, interfere in China’s internal affairs, and undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,’ the foreign ministry in Beijing said, 11 April. It said the ‘countermeasures against U.S. companies ..read more