On 21 June 2021, the EU and UK announced coordinated sanctions against specified Belarusian individuals and entities. This follows the forced landing of a commercial aircraft in Belarus and subsequent detention of a Belarusian journalist, and suggests that the UK is continuing to align its sanctions regime with key allies following Brexit. The sanctions were further coordinated with the US and Canada. The designated parties will be subject to asset freezes, whilst individuals will be…
On September 14, 2016, President Obama announced his intention to terminate US sanctions targeting Myanmar, also known as Burma (“Myanmar”), completing the process of relaxing US sanctions against Myanmar that began in July 2012. In a joint statement issued by the United States and Myanmar, President Barack Obama and State Chancellor Daw Aung Sun Suu Kyi announced the US-Myanmar Partnership, which will ultimately allow for deepened economic ties across a range of sectors between the countries. As an initial step for implementing the partnership, the President announced that the United States will terminate US sanctions and will revoke the Executive Order-based framework of the Myanmar sanctions program.
On 23 May 2016, at a joint press conference with President Quang in Hanoi, President Obama announced the lifting of the US arms embargo against Vietnam, which had been in place in 1984. The US Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) subsequently announced the end of its policy prohibiting the sale and transfer of lethal weapons to Vietnam.
On Thursday, March 24, 2016, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) is scheduled to publish a temporary general license in the Federal Register relating to Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation (“ZTE Corporation”) and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. (“ZTE Kangxun”). As detailed in a previous post, BIS added these two companies and two affiliated entities (Beijing 8-Star and ZTE Parsian) to the Export Administration Regulations’ (“EAR”) Entity List on March 8, 2016.