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 8,500 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, Salvatore Di Misa, and Elina Tsapouri.
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Last week’s highlights of The Daily Bugle included in this edition are:
- EU Commission Amends Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 Setting Up a Community Regime for The Control of Exports, Transfer, Brokering and Transit of Dual-Use Items; Monday, 14 Dec 2020; Item #5
- State Department: “Reimposing Certain Sanctions with Respect to Iran”; Tuesday, 15 Dec 2020; Item #1
- UK ECJU: “Notice to Exporters 2020/20: List Of Dual-Use Controlled Items Updated”; Wednesday, 18 Dec 2020; Item #5
- Commerce/BIS Adds China’s SMIC to the Entity List, Restricting Access to Key Enabling U.S. Technology; Friday, 11 Dec 2020; Item #1
- EU Amends Decision (CFSP) 2018/1789 to Combat the Illicit Trade in and Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Arab States; Friday, 18 Dec 2020; Item #9
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EU Commission Amends Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 Setting Up a Community Regime for The Control of Exports, Transfer, Brokering and Transit of Dual-Use Items
(Source: Official Journal of the European Union, 14 Dec 2020)
The European Commission, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 of 5 May 2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items, and in particular Article 15(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 requires dual-use items to be subject to effective control when they are exported from or in transit through the Union, or are delivered to a third country as a result of brokering services provided by a broker resident or established in the Union.
(2) Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 establishes the common list of dual-use items that are subject to controls in the Union. Decisions on the items subject to controls are taken within the framework of internationally agreed dual-use controls including the Australia Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Chemical Weapons Convention.
(3) The list of dual-use items set out in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 needs to be updated regularly in order to ensure full compliance with international security obligations, to guarantee transparency, and to maintain the competitiveness of economic operators. The control lists adopted by the international non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements has been changed during 2019 and until end of February 2020, and therefore Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 should be amended accordingly. In order to facilitate references for export control authorities and economic operators, Annex I to that Regulation should be replaced.
(4) Annexes IIa to IIf to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 establishes Union General Export Authorisations.
(5) Annex IIg to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 establishes a list of dual-use items that are to be excluded from the scope of national general export authorisations and Union General Export Authorisaitions.
(6) Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 establishes authorisation requirements for certain intra-Community transfers.
(7) The amendments to the list of dual-use items set out in Annex I necessitate consequential amendments to Annexes IIa to IIg and Annex IV for dual-use items which are also listed in Annexes IIa to IIg and Annex IV.
(8) Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 empowers the Commission to update the list of dual-use items set out in Annex I as well as Annexes IIa to IIg and Annex IV by means of delegated acts, in conformity with the relevant obligations and commitments, and any modifications thereto, that Member States have accepted as members of the international non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements, or by ratification of relevant international treaties.
(9) Considering the importance of ensuring full compliance with international security obligations as soon as practically possible, this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication.
(10) Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 is amended as follows: (1) Annex I is replaced by the text set out in Annex I to this Regulation. (2) Annexes IIa to IIg are replaced by the text set out in Annex II to this Regulation. (3) Annex IV is replaced by the text set out in Annex III to this Regulation. Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force. …
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State Department: “Reimposing Certain Sanctions with Respect to Iran”
(Source: Federal Register) [Excerpts]
85 FR 81261: Notice
* AGENCY: Department of State
* SUMMARY:The Secretary of State imposed sanctions on six entities and five individuals pursuant to E.O. 13846, Reimposing Certain Sanctions with Respect to Iran; the Secretary of State subsequently terminated those sanctions imposed on one of the entities and one of the individuals.
* DATES:The Secretary of State’s determination and selection of certain sanctions to be imposed upon the six entities and five individuals identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section was effective as of September 25, 2019. The Secretary of State’s subsequent termination of sanctions with respect to one of the entities and one of the individuals, further identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section, was effective January 31, 2020.
* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Taylor Ruggles, Director, Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520, tel.: (202) 647-7677, email: RugglesTV@state.gov.
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UK ECJU: “Notice to Exporters 2020/20: List Of Dual-Use Controlled Items Updated”
(Source: UK ECJU, 15 Dec 2020)
Commission Delegated Regulation EU 2020/1749 was published on 14 December 2020 in the Official Journal of the European Union. This updates the control list (Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 428/2009) which reflects the changes previously agreed in the international export control regimes. It comes into force on the 15 December 2020.
* Consolidated list: The consolidated list of strategic military and dual-use items that require export authorisation has been amended and republished accordingly.
* Open general export licences (OGELs): OGELs affected will be updated and republished shortly.
* Contact ECJU: HelplineExport Control Joint Unit, 2nd floor3 Whitehall Place London, SW1A 2AW
Email: exportcontrol.help@trade.gov.uk; Telephone 020-7215-4594
Contact for general queries about strategic export licensing.
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Commerce/BIS Adds China’s SMIC to the Entity List, Restricting Access to Key Enabling U.S. Technology
(Source: Commerce/BIS, 18 Dec 2020)
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in the Department of Commerce (Commerce) added Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) of China to the Entity List. BIS is taking this action to protect U.S. national security. This action stems from China’s military-civil fusion (MCF) doctrine and evidence of activities between SMIC and entities of concern in the Chinese military industrial complex.
“We will not allow advanced U.S. technology to help build the military of an increasingly belligerent adversary. Between SMIC’s relationships of concern with the military industrial complex, China’s aggressive application of military civil fusion mandates and state-directed subsidies, SMIC perfectly illustrates the risks of China’s leverage of U.S. technology to support its military modernization,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
“Entity List restrictions are a necessary measure to ensure that China, through its national champion SMIC, is not able to leverage U.S. technologies to enable indigenous advanced technology levels to support its destabilizing military activities,” added Ross.
The Entity List designation limits SMIC’s ability to acquire certain U.S. technology by requiring U.S. exporters to apply for a license to sell to the company. Items uniquely required to produce semiconductors at advanced technology nodes-10 nanometers or below-will be subject to a presumption of denial to prevent such key enabling technology from supporting China’s military-civil fusion efforts.
BIS also added more than sixty other entities to the Entity List for actions deemed contrary to the national security or foreign policy interest of the United States. These include entities in China that enable human rights abuses, entities that supported the militarization and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea, entities that acquired U.S.-origin items in support of the People’s Liberation Army’s programs, and entities and persons that engaged in the theft of U.S. trade secrets.
The Entity List is a tool utilized by BIS to restrict the export, re-export, and transfer (in-country) of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to persons (i.e., individuals, organizations, and companies) reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose a significant risk of becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. Additional license requirements apply to exports, re-exports, and transfers (in-country) of items subject to the EAR to listed entities, and the availability of most license exceptions is limited.
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EU Amends Decision (CFSP) 2018/1789 to Combat the Illicit Trade in and Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Arab States
(Source: Official Journal of the European Union, 18 Dec 2020)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 28(1) and 31(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
Whereas:
(1) On 19 November 2018, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2018/1789 (1) in support of combating the illicit trade in and proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the Member States of the League of Arab States.
(2) Article 5(2) of Decision (CFSP) 2018/1789 provides that that Decision is to expire 24 months after the date of conclusion of the agreement referred to in Article 3(3) of that Decision.
(3) On 30 October 2020, the Small Arms Survey (SAS), which is the implementing Agency of the project referred to in Article 1 of Decision (CFSP) 2018/1789, requested the authorisation of the Union to extend the implementation period set out in that Decision by six months, thereby bringing the total duration of the implementation period to 30 months. The requested extension is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent postponement of a number of activities provided for by the project.
(4) The requested amendment of Decision (CFSP) 2018/1789 concerns Article 5(2) thereof.
(5) The extension of the implementation period set out in Decision (CFSP) 2018/1789 by six months can be performed without any financial resource implication,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1. Article 5(2) of Decision (CFSP) 2018/1789 is hereby replaced by the following: This Decision shall expire 30 months after the date of the conclusion of the agreement referred to in Article 3(3).
Article 2. This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
Done at Brussels, 17 December 2020.