December 21, 2023

The Readbook is Kharon's weekly roundup of our published pieces, upcoming events, and the best-curated news feed on the intersection?of international security and global commerce. Subscribe to the email version.

THIS WEEK ON THE KHARON BRIEF

U.S. Adds Chinese Companies to UFLPA Entity List, Restricts Imports Tied to Forced Labor

The Department of Homeland Security announced earlier this month that it’s restricting imports from three Chinese companies for engaging in forced labor activities involving minority groups in Xinjiang, China. [Read More]

New U.S. Guidance Aims to Reduce Dependence on Foreign-Manufactured Electric Vehicle Battery Components

Earlier this month, the Biden administration unveiled long-awaited guidance on tax credit eligibility for electric vehicles that could further impact the automotive industry beyond existing regulations on products made with forced labor. [Read More]

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MEDIA ROUNDUP

SANCTIONS        

The EU adopted a twelfth package of economic and individual restrictive measures targeting high-value sectors of the Russian economy, including the diamond industry, and making it more difficult to circumvent EU sanctions. [EU Council]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury targeted shipowners and vessels implicated in transporting Russian crude oil above the price cap and updated guidance on the implementation of the price cap policy. [U.S. Treasury]

An Austrian bank has concluded a complex asset swap arrangement with Oleg Deripaska that skirts EU sanctions restrictions to hand the Russian oligarch rubles worth EUR 1.5 billion. [FT]

A French sports retail giant has acknowledged it secretly continued selling sportswear in Russia despite officially pulling out in protest of Russia's war in Ukraine. [Le Monde]

A Russian banker who has been placed under sanctions sold more than GBP 15 million of shares in a London-based cryptocurrency firm in a transaction that experts say could have attracted scrutiny from U.S. sanctions enforcers. [Guardian]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on 10 entities and four individuals based in Iran, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia supporting Iran’s UAV production. [U.S. Treasury]

The U.K.’s new Iran sanctions regime came into force, giving the U.K. extensive new powers to hold Iran and its decision makers to account. [U.K. Government]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned the Malas Ma?as transnational criminal organization, a human smuggling and narcotics trafficking organization based in Sonora, Mexico, along with two individuals in its support network. [U.S. Treasury]

A Chinese state-owned multinational conglomerate has bought a million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, a rare purchase as the state oil and chemicals group capitalizes on Washington's suspension of sanctions on the South American producer. [Reuters]

COMPLIANCE + ENFORCEMENT        

An Iranian national was charged with crimes related to the procurement of U.S.-manufactured dual-use microelectronics for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization’s one-way attack UAV program. [U.S. Justice]

The EU Council and the European Parliament reached a political agreement to criminalize the violation of EU sanctions. This directive ensures that those who violate or circumvent EU sanctions will be prosecuted. [EU Council]

A former Special Agent in Charge of the New York FBI Counterintelligence Division was sentenced to 50 months in prison for conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Russia. [U.S. Justice]

EXPORT CONTROLS + SUPPLY CHAIN        

The U.S. added 13 companies in China to a list of entities receiving U.S. exports that officials have been unable to inspect. [Reuters]

A growing number of Chinese semiconductor design companies are tapping Malaysian firms to assemble a portion of their high-end chips, keen to hedge risks in case the U.S. expands sanctions on China's chip industry. [Reuters]

China and Nicaragua upgraded their bilateral ties, setting the stage for the Asian giant to provide more economic support to the sanctioned Central American state and furthering Beijing's strategic ambitions in the region. [Reuters]

Using specialized e-commerce sites, secretive shipping workarounds, and a constellation of middlemen, Russia has obtained the tech components it needs to keep its economy and war in Ukraine going. [NYT]

CRYPTO        

In Cambodia’s ‘underground’ crypto economy, Tether has become the coin of choice for Chinese-linked activities. [SCMP]

A network supporting ISIS that transacted EUR 200,000 worth of crypto was dismantled by the Spanish police. [Spanish Police]