To expand the reach of U.S. sanctions, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) on March 21 to require a license for the export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) of all items “subject to the EAR” when a party to the transaction is blocked under one of 14 U.S. sanctions programs. Items “subject to the EAR” include all U.S.-origin items and certain foreign-produced items that incorporate more than a de minimis amount of controlled U.S.-origin commodities, are direct products of U.S.-controlled technology, or are manufactured in plants that are direct products of U.S.-controlled technology. Relevant parties to the transaction include the purchaser, intermediate consignee, ultimate consignee, and end-user.

The new end-user controls reach transactions over which the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) does not exercise jurisdiction (e.g., deemed exports and deemed reexports) or that otherwise do not involve U.S. persons or U.S. financial institutions. These controls affect exports, reexports, or transfers (in-country) involving parties on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) with the following identifiers:

Russia-related

  • [BELARUS-EO14038]
  • [BELARUS]
  • [RUSSIA–EO14024]
  • [UKRAINE–EO13660]
  • [UKRAINE–EO13661]
  • [UKRAINE–EO13662]
  • [UKRAINE–EO13685]

Terrorism-related

  • [FTO]
  • [SDGT]

Weapons of mass destruction-related

  • [NPWMD]

Related to narcotrafficking or other criminal networks

  • [ILLICIT DRUGS–EO14059]
  • [SDNT]
  • [SDNTK]
  • [TCO]

To avoid redundancies between the agencies, transactions authorized under a general or specific license from OFAC or exempted under the applicable regulations do not require a separate license from BIS. License exceptions are not available for transactions subject to these new controls. License applications will also be subject to a presumption of denial.

Companies outside the U.S. that trade in items subject to EAR should screen the parties to their transactions against the SDN List to ensure compliance with these end-user controls.