On August 9, 2021, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada significantly escalated sanctions against Belarus in a multilateral effort to put pressure on the current Lukashenko regime. These sanctions were announced on the first anniversary of the fraudulent elections held in Belarus on August 9, 2020 and follow a series of previous measures against Belarus, including most recently the coordinated measures between the UK, US, Canada and the EU in June (see our…
On July 1, 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) announced that the temporary final rule that placed export restrictions on certain medical supplies and personal protection equipment products (“PPE Products”) has expired. There are now no current export restrictions on these items. The temporary final rule was first published in April 2020 to allocate scarce medical supplies and PPE products for domestic use in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Exemptions from export restrictions were published…
On June 8, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14033 “Blocking Property and Suspending Entry Into the United States of Certain Persons Contributing to the Destabilizing Situation in the Western Balkans” (“EO 14033”), expanding the sanctions regime related to the Western Balkans. The White House also issued a fact sheet that details the US administration’s policy goals. US State Secretary Antony Blinken also issued a statement emphasizing the role that EO 14033 serves in modernizing…
On June 14, 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) announced new exemptions from a temporary final rule placing export restrictions on certain types of medical supplies and personal protection equipment products (“PPE Products”) used in response to the COVID-19 global health pandemic. The new exemptions include industrial N95 respirators, PPE surgical masks, and specific syringes and needles. The temporary final rule is set to expire on June 30, 2021. FEMA first imposed export restrictions…