Russia

On Thursday, June 15, 2017, by a vote of 98-2, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that would potentially impose additional sanctions against Russia and give Congress the power to delay and/or prevent any action by President Trump to lift or relax sanctions against Russia. Tentatively titled the “Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017” (“CRIEEA”), the bill must now proceed to the U.S. House of Representatives for further deliberation and approval.

On March 28, 2017, Petitioners Charter Steel, Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc., Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc., and Nucor Corporation filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping duties and countervailing duties on imports of Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Belarus, Italy, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the Republic of South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION

The merchandise covered by these investigations are certain hot-rolled products of carbon steel and alloy steel, in coils, of approximately round cross section, less than 19.00 mm in actual solid cross-sectional diameter. Specifically excluded are steel products possessing the above-noted physical characteristics and meeting the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) definitions for (a) stainless steel; (b) tool steel; (c) high-nickel steel; (d) ball bearing steel; or (e) concrete reinforcing bars and rods. Also excluded are free cutting steel (also known as free machining steel) products (i.e., products that contain by weight one or more of the following elements: 0.1 percent or more of lead, 0.05 percent or more of bismuth, 0.08 percent or more of sulfur, more than 0.04 percent of phosphorous, more than 0.05 percent of selenium, or more than 0.01 percent of tellurium). All products meeting the physical description of subject merchandise that are not specifically excluded are included in this scope.

As previously reported here, former President Obama in December 2016 issued an amendment to Executive Order (“EO”) 13694, which imposed sanctions on the Russian Federal Security Service (a.k.a Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti and/or FSB) (“FSB”), other Russian entities and officers of those entities. The Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) also placed FSB and those entities and individuals on its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (the “SDN List”).  These sanctions prohibited persons subject to US jurisdiction from transacting business with the FSB and the other entities and individuals named in EO 13694 and the SDN List designations.

Following the recent release of a joint analysis report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Russian Malicious Cyber Activity and sanctions issued by the Obama Administration on December 29, 2016 (as previously reported here), the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding five (5) Russian entities to the Entity List.  The entities identified below have been determined to have been involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States:

Yesterday, President Obama issued an amendment to Executive Order 13694 related to malicious cyber activities which imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies (the Federal Security Service and the Main Intelligence Directorate), four individual intelligence agency officers and three Russian vendors that provided cyber support to one of the sanctioned agencies. In an official statement, President Obama explained that the amendment was a response to “the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of U.S. officials and cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election.” The amendment also authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to sanction any additional individuals or entities determined to be engaged in “tampering with, altering, or causing a misappropriation of information with the purpose or effect of interfering with or undermining election processes or institutions.”  The nine individuals and entities named in the E.O. 13694 amendment are now listed on the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (the “SDN list”) maintained by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).  This places a freeze on any property within the U.S. belonging to those individuals or entities and also prohibits persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction from engaging in trade with the sanctioned individuals and entities.  Shortly thereafter, OFAC exercised its authority under a separate section of E.O. 13694 and added two Russian cyber criminals to the SDN list along with the nine individuals and entities named by President Obama (list found here).

On December 20, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued its latest round of Russian sanctions as part of the ongoing U.S. response to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and its subsequent escalation of conflict in the region. The new sanctions target seven individuals, eight entities, and two vessels. OFAC also added an additional 26 subsidiaries of Russian banks already subject to sanctions to the U.S. Sectoral Sanctions List. The new sanctions come one day after the European Union extended its sanctions against Russia for an additional six months.

On September 1, 2016, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed sanctions on 37 new individuals and entities to prevent attempts to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Russia, help the private sector with compliance and to foster a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. The new list (found here) includes 17 separatists in eastern Ukraine or Russian-occupied Crimea, including 11 officials operating in Crimea.  18 companies operating in Crimea, including a number of construction, defense and maritime firms, and a Ukrainian charity were added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.  The list includes construction companies, PJSC Mostotrest and SGM –Most OOO, which were awarded contracts to complete the Kerch Strait Bridge to connect Russia to Crimea.

The U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), this week imposed sanctions on fourteen additional Ukrainian and Russian individuals and two organizations, including the Russian National Commercial Bank (RNCB), by adding them to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. These designations were issued pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13660 for undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and misappropriation of Ukrainian states assets, and E.O. 13685 for operating in Crimea Region.

Treasury stated that the RNCB was added to the sanctions list because it had no presence in the Crimea region prior to the occupation by Russia, and because Russian authorities have illegally used the bank in efforts to incorporate Crimea into the Russian Federation.

On December 18, 2014, President Obama signed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 (UFSA) into law,broadening the Administration’s authority to impose sanctions in response to continued Russian activity in Ukraine. Although the legislation authorizes the President to increase sanctions, he has stated that “this does not signal a change in the Administration’s sanctions policy” and the Administration does not intend to impose further sanctions at this time.

Yesterday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced increased economic sanctions against Russia, including measures against Russia’s largest bank – Sberbank Russia – as well as several state-owned defense technology companies and five energy companies (Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegas and Rosneft).  The United States has also tightened previous restrictions by lowering from 90 days to 30 days the allowable length of debt U.S. citizens and entities may buy from sanctioned Russian banks – Bank of Moscow, Gazprombank OAO, Vnesheconombank (VEB), Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank),  VTB Bank OAO and Sberbank Russia.