The Daily Bugle Weekly Highlights: Week 22 (27 – 31 May 2019)

Every Monday we post the highlights out of last week’s FCC Export/Import Daily Update (“The Daily Bugle”). Send out every business day to approximately 6,500 readers of changes to defense and high-tech trade laws and regulations, The Daily Bugle is a free daily newsletter from Full Circle Compliance, edited by James E. Bartlett III, Alexander P. Bosch, Vincent J.A. Goossen, and Alex Witt.

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Last week’s highlights of The Daily Bugle included in this edition are:

  1. DoD Delivers 2019 Annual Report to Congress Regarding China’s Military and Security Developments; The Daily Bugle; Tuesday, 28 May 2019, Item #3;
  2. Treasury/OFAC Issues Findings of Violation to State Street Bank and Trust Co.; The Daily Bugle; Tuesday 28 May 2019, Item #5;
  3. EU Amends Restrictive Measures Against Iran; The Daily Bugle; Tuesday 28 May 2019, Item #6;
  4. Treasury/OFAC Releases 2018 Terrorist Assets Report; The Daily Bugle; Wednesday, 29 May 2019, Item #8;

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1. DoD Delivers 2019 Annual Report to Congress Regarding China’s Military and Security Developments

(Source: DoD, 2 May 2019.) [Excerpts.]

The China’s leaders have benefited from what they view as a “period of strategic opportunity” during the initial two decades of the 21st century to develop domestically and expand China’s “comprehensive national power.”  Over the coming decades, they are focused on realizing a powerful and prosperous China that is equipped with a “world-class” military, securing China’s status as a great power with the aim of emerging as the preeminent power in the Indo-Pacific region.

In 2018, China continued harnessing an array of economic, foreign policy, and security tools to realize this vision. Ongoing state-led efforts, which China implements both at home and abroad and which often feature economic and diplomatic   initiatives, also support China’s security and military objectives:

– China continues to implement long-term state-directed planning, such as “Made in China 2025” and other industrial development plans, which stress the need to replace imported technology with domestically produced technology.  These plans present an economic challenge to nations that export high-tech products. These plans also directly support military modernization goals by stressing proprietary mastery of advanced dual-use technologies. 

– China’s leaders seek to align civil and defense technology     development to achieve greater efficiency, innovation, and growth. In recent years, China’s leaders elevated this initiative, known as Civil-Military Integration (CMI), to a national strategy that incentivizes the civilian sector to enter the defense market.  The national CMI strategy focuses on hardware modernization, education, personnel, investment, infrastructure, and logistics. …

To read the full report (in PDF), click here.

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2. Treasury/OFAC Issues Finding of Violation to State Street Bank and Trust Co.

(Source: Treasury/OFAC, 28 May 2019.) 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a Finding of Violation to State Street Bank and Trust Co. (SSBT) for violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 560 (ITSR).  Specifically, between January 1, 2012 and September 1, 2015, SSBT acted as trustee for a customer’s employee retirement plan.  In this capacity, SSBT processed at least 45 pension payments totaling $11,365.44 to a plan participant who was a U.S. citizen with a U.S. bank account, but who was resident in Iran.  This matter was voluntarily self-disclosed to OFAC.  There is no monetary penalty associated with a Finding of Violation.

For more information, please visit the following web notice.

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3. EU Amends Restrictive Measures Against Iran

(Source: Official Journal of the European Union)

Regulations

* Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/855of 27 May 2019 implementing Regulation (EU) No 267/2012 concerning restrictive measures against Iran

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4. Treasury/OFAC Releases 2018 Terrorist Assets Report

(Source: Treasury/OFAC, 29 May 2019.)   

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has released its 2018 Terrorist Assets Report.

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