In a notification published in the Federal Register on August 26, 2019, the State Department provided additional information on restrictions on exports to Russia that were initially described by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on August 2, 2019 when he announced the second round of targeted sanctions on Russia under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (the “CBW Act”). Our blog post on the August 2, 2019 announcement (“Announcement”), which described sanctions measures concerning multilateral bank assistance and lending to or participation in debt offerings by the Russian sovereign, in addition to restrictions on exports to Russia described in further detail below, is available here.
The export control restrictions included in the notice are consistent with those outlined in the Announcement, i.e., a prohibition on exports of goods and technology to Russia (excluding food and other agricultural commodities). However, the prohibition has been waived, so as a practical matter there are no new licensing requirements for the export or reexport of items to Russia. The licensing review policy for exports or reexports of goods or technology subject to “CB” controls on the Commerce Control List (i.e., items controlled as Chemical and Biological Weapons) has changed, however, with license applications for exports or reexports of CB-controlled items to Russian state-owned or state-funded enterprises to be reviewed under a policy of “presumption of denial.” All other license applications for CB-items will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
