CBP has begun drafting an announcement that will require shippers to use electronic export manifests (see 2003110038) for all ocean, air and rail shipments, said Jim Swanson, CBP’s director of the Cargo and Security Controls Division. While the agency doesn’t yet have a firm effective date, he said CBP is finally working on regulatory changes that would mandate those electronic filings and expects to issue Federal Register notices in “the next several months.”

The U.S. said it will not block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, a commitment meant to strengthen ties with Germany but one that frustrated U.S. lawmakers who for months have called for strict sanctions against the pipeline. While the State Department said the U.S. and Germany remain “united in their determination” to sanction Russia for “malign activities,” the Russia-backed pipeline will proceed, they said.

Although enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act this year is off to its slowest start in a decade (see 2105050018), industry should expect FCPA penalties to pick up as more Justice Department officials are appointed and the Biden administration follows through on its commitment to combat corruption, lawyers said. They also said the administration will work more closely with allies and within the interagency, which should continue a trend of rising FCPA enforcement.

The Commerce and Treasury departments fined a Dubai energy equipment supplier and its U.S. affiliate more than $430,000 for illegally exporting goods to Iran, the agencies said July 19. The U.S. fined Dubai-based Alfa Laval Middle East (AL Middle East) $415,695 for exporting Gamajet brand storage tank cleaning units from the U.S. to Iran and fined Virginia-based Alfa Laval (AL U.S.) $16,875 because its subsidiary referred an Iranian “business opportunity” to AL Middle East, according to enforcement orders issued this week.

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The U.S. shouldn’t rely on export controls on semiconductors to stay ahead of China because the strategy would likely “backfire,” a former Department of Defense official told Congress this week. Lisa Porter, the former deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said government intervention in supply chains can “distort the market in ways that are hard to predict” and could lead to unintended consequences for the microelectronics industry.

Sanctions and export control enforcement in the United Kingdom has increased significantly in the past year as the country emphasizes more investigative work and higher penalties, said Tristan Grimmer, a compliance lawyer in Baker McKenzie’s London office.

The U.S. released an advisory to highlight the sanctions and export controls risks for companies doing business in Hong Kong and announced a new set of Hong Kong designations July 16. The advisory, issued by the State, Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security departments, describes “considerations” for businesses operating in “this new legal landscape,” which includes several sanctions regimes targeting Beijing and Hong Kong.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added six Russian entities to the Entity List for activities that threaten U.S. national security and foreign policy, the agency said in notice. The entities operate in Russia’s technology sector and support the country’s intelligence services, BIS said. The Treasury Department sanctioned all six companies in February under President Joe Biden’s executive order that targeted Russia’s defense and technology sectors and its attempts to influence foreign elections (see 2104150019). BIS also corrected one existing Russian entry on the Entity List. The rule is effective July 19.

Companies are continuing to see heavy U.S. enforcement surrounding Chinese attempts to steal U.S. trade secrets, and the government is increasingly expecting U.S. companies to voluntarily disclose violations surrounding those and other cases, lawyers said. The U.S. is hoping to increase enforcement by incentivizing companies to self-disclose sanctions and export control compliance mistakes, especially through the Department of Justice's revised disclosure policy guidelines (see 1912130047), the lawyers said.