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While the Trump Administration ended with a continuing flurry of activity affecting U.S. sanctions and export controls, with several actions affecting parties in China and Hong Kong, the Biden Administration is taking a slower approach to changes regarding a range of export control and economic sanctions measures.
Changes Introduced in the Waning Days of the Trump Administration
Among the last activities of the Trump Administration affecting economic sanctions and export controls were several additional designations of parties in China and Hong Kong. Six additional Hong Kong and Chinese officials were designated as Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDNs”) on 15 January 2021 pursuant to Executive Order (“EO”) 13936. In addition, the U.S. Department of Commerce added China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to the Entity List and Chinese company Skyrizon to the Military End-User (MEU
[co-authors: Nick Russell, and Alasdair Kan]
Key Points
The U.S. government has recently imposed controls pertaining to “Communist Chinese Military Companies” (CCMCs or “1237 entities”); Chinese “Military End Users” (MEUs); and Chinese “Military-Intelligence End Users” (MIEUs). The U.S. government has also been adding Chinese companies to the Entity List based on concerns regarding the companies’ relationships to the Chinese military industrial complex.
Although the names and underlying policy concerns are similar, the scope and source of the prohibitions regarding each set of Chinese entities are quite different. Companies on one of the lists are not automatically on others, but overlap is possible as the lists evolve. These lists are in addition to the Chinese entities that are on the Unverified List (UVLs), the Denied Persons List (DPLs), and the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDNs).
I. Overview
With just one week remaining in his term, President Trump amended Executive Order (“
EO”) 13959, which prohibits U.S. persons from investing in the securities of Chinese Military Companies (“
CMCs”), to continue his aggressive stance toward such CMCs. The amended EO now generally prohibits all transactions (rather than just investments) in CMC securities and requires U.S. persons to divest themselves of all such securities by November 11, 2021, and within 365 days for future listed CMCs. We discussed the earlier version of EO 13959 at length in a previous client alert, and OFAC’s interpretations of key terms (which generally remain valid) in another client alert.
US slaps sanctions on entities for Iranian steel transactions
The US State Department is sanctioning several entities and individuals for doing steel-related business involving the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, its subsidiaries and other Iranian shipping entities, the department said Jan. 15.
State is imposing sanctions on IRISL under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act for knowingly selling grain-oriented electrical steel to Hoopad Darya Shipping Agency Company, according to a statement.
Hoopad is included on the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons maintained by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
“The State Department is also imposing sanctions on Mohammad Reza Modarres Khiabani, CEO of IRISL, who has been determined to be a principal executive officer, or person performing similar functions and with similar authorities, of IRISL,” the department added.