On May 24, 2019, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to (i) remove Venezuela from Country Group B, which affords favorable treatment for certain exports of national security-controlled items, and (ii) add Venezuela to Country Group D:1, which includes countries of national security concern, and to Country Groups D:2, D:3, and D:4, which include countries of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and missile technology concern, respectively. BIS also made other conforming changes to the EAR, including adding (i) nonproliferation column 2 (NP 2) and (ii) chemical and biological weapons column 3 (CB 3) reasons for control for Venezuela. Venezuela had previously been part of Country Group D:5 as a US arms embargoed country, meaning that exports and reexports to Venezuela for items classified under 9×515 and “600 series” ECCNs were already subject to a policy of denial, and Venezuela has been included in the military end-use and end-user control in Section 744.21 of the EAR. BIS noted that the final rule better protects US national security and better aligns the Country Group designations for Venezuela with other EAR national security-related provisions that already apply to Venezuela.
On April 17, 2019, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) continued its escalation of sanctions against Venezuela and Nicaragua through the designation of additional parties as Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs”). OFAC issued two Venezuelan general licenses (“GLs”), amended certain Venezuelan GLs, and issued one FAQ, as further described below. A summary of OFAC’s measures is available here, and a related press release issued by the White House is available here.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) continues to escalate the use of sanctions against the Maduro regime as well as entities that support the Maduro regime through the designation of high-profile parties as Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs”). These designations increase the compliance risks for both US and non-US parties attempting to do business with Venezuela. Companies should watch out for additional designations under the Venezuelan sanctions, including possible designations of companies in the financial sector, gold sector, or other key sectors of the Venezuelan economy.
On March 14, 2019, OFAC reissued General License 7 (“GL 7”) as General License 7A (“GL 7A”) to extend the general license’s authorization for certain activities involving PDV Holding, Inc. (“PDVH”) and CITGO Holding, Inc. (“CITGO”). While the original GL 7(a) was set to expire on July 27, 2019, GL 7A(a) automatically renews on the first day of each month, and is valid for a period of 18 months from the last renewal date. GL 7A(a) authorizes certain transactions with PDVH, CITGO, and their subsidiaries that would otherwise be prohibited as a result of the designation of their parent, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PdVSA”), on January 28, 2019 under Executive Order 13850. We note that the separate petroleum-related provision that appears in GL 7(b) has not changed, and still expires on April 28, 2019. GL 7A(b) continues to authorize PDVH, CITGO, and their subsidiaries to engage in transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the purchase and importation of petroleum and petroleum products from PdVSA (and any entity in which PdVSA owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest). Our prior blog posts on the scope of GL 7 are here and here.