Export Controls on Russia Expanded and Revised

The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule that, effective Nov. 1, makes the following changes to the export controls against Russia and Belarus under the Export Administration Regulations.

– imposes controls on exports to Russia and Belarus of nine chemical precursors that “play a significant role in civilian applications” but are also essential for the production of riot control agents and the chemical weapon chloropicrin that Russia has deployed against Ukraine in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention

– reduces the licensing burden on certain government entities located in Russia and Belarus by granting the same eligibility for certain exclusions, exceptions, and licensing policy as is currently available for private-sector entities headquartered in Country Group A:5 and A:6 countries

– clarifies that the license requirements under the Russia/Belarus Military End-User and Procurement Foreign Direct Product Rule, as well as the EAR’s other Entity List FDP rules, extend to or within any destination or to any end-user or party that otherwise meets the criteria

BIS states that shipments of items removed from eligibility for a license exception or export, reexport, or transfer without a license (NLR) as a result of this rule that were en route aboard a carrier to a port of export, reexport, or transfer on Nov. 1, pursuant to actual orders for export, reexport, or transfer to or within a foreign destination, may proceed to that destination under the previous eligibility provided that the export, reexport, or transfer is completed no later than Dec. 2.