Olena Buturlim15:04, 12.06.24

The measures are aimed at restricting goods produced and sold through third countries.

President Joe Biden’s administration is expanding sanctions on the sale of semiconductor chips and other goods to Russia, targeting third-party sellers in China and other countries, according to people familiar with the matter .

It said the Biden administration will announce changes on June 12 that expand the scope of existing export controls and restrictions to target American-branded goods, even if they are not made in the United States.

In particular, chips are a key target for change. Russia still manages to obtain chips from third countries for use in missiles and other critical battlefield components, despite efforts to limit Moscow’s access to the technology.

According to the journalists, the US will expand the categories of prohibited goods by publishing broader product codes and will also identify by address Hong Kong companies that they say are shipping goods to Moscow. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed the new measures would be introduced but declined to discuss details. “This week we will announce a powerful set of new sanctions and export control measures,” Kirby said.

He said the measures would target organizations and networks that help Russia procure goods for use in the war, tighten rules for “financial intermediaries” and restrict key sectors. The Commerce Department, which oversees export controls, declined to comment.

Third party sellers

One of the biggest changes in the expanded sanctions concerns how the U.S. enforces rules requiring export licenses for manufacturers or third-party sellers who sell chips and other goods to the Russian military.

U.S. regulators aim to limit the sale of chips made abroad if they bear a U.S. brand, or if they are made with U.S. technology or on U.S.-related equipment and are therefore subject to sanctions. Previously, enforcement focused more on goods of American origin. The US will identify third-party sellers and warn them that they are prohibited from shipping US-branded chips to Russia. Such resellers are often based in China.

The U.S. will also publish for the first time the addresses on its sanctions list, which includes eight addresses in Hong Kong that the U.S. government believes are linked to shipments of chips to Russia, the people said. Companies that violate the sanctions could face criminal penalties or restrictions on their own resources, one of the people said.

The Biden administration is also detailing so-called temporary bans related to firms they accuse of violating restrictions and selling goods, in particular, related to the Russian aviation sector. In addition, the US is expanding restrictions on enterprise software used in Russia, which will effectively stop updates for that software.

Access to technology

Extending the restrictions to foreign-made chips is the latest step in a long-running effort by the United States and the European Union to limit Russia’s access to technology used for military purposes. Despite numerous rounds of trade restrictions, Russia has partially circumvented them by importing what it needs through third countries or intermediary networks. Last year, Russia imported more than $1 billion worth of modern chips.

(C)UNIAN 2024