Commerce, Treasury Give Details on New Export Controls, Sanctions on Russia

The Commerce and Treasury Departments announced a raft of new export controls and sanctions measures against Russia in press releases issued Feb. 24 following White House remarks by President Joe Biden. The measures include export control license requirements for a broad swath of the Commerce Control List, and the expansion of sanctions, including to entities in Belarus. The Bureau of Industry and Security also released a final rule on the export control changes, which take effect Feb. 24.

The Bureau of Industry and Security rule sets license requirements with a policy of denial on all Export Control Classification Number (ECCNs) in categories 3-9 of the Commerce Control list, 58 of which were previously not controlled to Russia, including semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers, and sensors, many of which were not previously controlled when destined to Russia, BIS said in a fact sheet. BIS is also adding 49 Russian military end users to the Entity List.

In the rule, BIS is also creating new foreign direct product rules for all of Russia, including a more restrictive foreign direct product rule for military end users that will require a license if an entity with a footnote 3 designation. BIS will also restrict the use of license exceptions for Russia.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control added some 75 entities and 15 individuals from Russia and Belarus to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, including VTB Bank, Russia’s second largest, and three other major financial institutions. OFAC also announced payable-through account sanctions on Sherbank, the largest Russian bank, as well as debt and equity prohibitions against major state-owned and private entities. OFAC also announced a series of general licenses outlining exceptions to the expanded sanctions.