The US State Department recently explained the waivers of the chemical and biological weapon (CBW) sanctions against the Russian government, confirming that many exports – even of national security-controlled items – can still be exported to Russia.

Overview

On 8 August 2018 the State Department issued sanctions against the Russian government under the CBW Act. These sanctions will apply from 27 August 2018. The CBW Act requires the implementation of five initial sanctions. However, the State Department has waived the application of some of these sanctions in the interest of national security.

In addition to the waivers described below, the sanctions allow export licensing under the pre-sanction licensing policy for:

  • wholly owned US subsidiaries;
  • deemed exports and re-exports;
  • flight safety;
  • space flight; and
  • commercial end uses.

Sanctions and waivers

A summary of the State Department's CBW Act sanctions and waivers is set out below.

Foreign assistance The provision of assistance to Russia under the Foreign Assistance Act 1961 has been terminated, except for urgent humanitarian assistance and food or other agricultural commodities or products.

The State Department has waived this restriction.

Arms sales The following have been terminated:

  • sales to Russia under the Arms Export Control Act of any defence articles, defence services or design and construction services; and
  • licences to export any item on the US Munitions List to Russia.

The State Department has waived this sanction with respect to the issuance of licences in support of government space cooperation and commercial space launches. Licences will be issued on a case-by-case basis and will be consistent with the export licensing policy for Russia prior to the enactment of these sanctions.

Arms sales financing All foreign military financing for Russia under the Arms Export Control Act has been terminated.

The State Department has not waived this restriction.

Denial of US government credit or other financial assistance Any credit, credit guarantees or other financial assistance to Russia by any department, agency or instrumentality of the US government, including the Export-Import Bank of the United States, will be denied.

The State Department has not waived this restriction.

Exports of national security sensitive goods and technology A prohibition has been introduced on the export to Russia of any goods or technology on that part of the control list established under Section 2404(c)(1) of the Appendix to Title 50.

Several waivers have been enacted with regard to this sanction.

Licence exceptions GOV, ENC, RPL, BAG, TMP, TSU, APR, CIV and AVS will still be available for exports of national security sensitive goods and technology to Russia.

New licence applications for goods relating to the following will be considered on a case-by-case basis under the export licensing policy for Russia prior to the enactment of these sanctions:

  • wholly owned US subsidiaries;
  • safety of flight of civil fixed-wing passenger aviation;
  • deemed exports and re-exports to Russian nationals;
  • space flight (ie, government space cooperation and commercial space launches); and
  • commercial end users and civil end uses.

New licence applications for state-owned and state-funded enterprises will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, subject to a presumption of denial.

Comment

After all of the waivers, the sanctions will affect only exports of national security items to Russian state-owned and state-funded enterprises and should not affect exports to passenger aviation and space flight, even for Russian state-owned and state-funded enterprises. In short, unless the Trump administration imposes additional sanctions in three months' time, the effects on commercial business with Russia should be limited. However, these measures must still be implemented by the various government agencies (eg, the Bureau of Industry and Security), which will provide more guidance on implementation.

The CBW Act requires additional sanctions within three months, dependent on the president certifying to Congress that the Russian government:

  • no longer uses chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or its own nationals;
  • has provided reliable assurances that it will not engage in any such activities in future; and
  • has allowed the United Nations or other impartial observers to conduct onsite inspections or has used other reliable means to ensure that it is not violating international law or using CBWs on its own nationals.

For further information on this topic please contact Kay C Georgi at Arent Fox LLP's Washington DC office by telephone (+1 202 857 6000) or email ([email protected]). Alternatively, contact Marwa M Hassoun at Arent Fox's Los Angeles office by telephone (+1 213 629 7400) or email ([email protected]). The Arent Fox LLP website can be accessed at www.arentfox.com.

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