April - 2017

OFAC publishes General License for Kingpin Act

The US department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has recently published general license for Kingpin sanction regulations. All of the guidelines are available in General License No. 4G These License will be effective starting from 17th June 2017, and PST.AG will prepare the data regarding these General license in the future. PST.AG's post regarding Kingpin Act: https://www.pst.ag/single-post/2017/01/06/OFAC-has-recently-published-Two-Kingpin-Act-General-Licenc

PST.AG has updated HS Codes for US

PST.AG has done major updates for HS Codes of US. It is for both import and export. The data is available starting from today.

271 Syrian Government Workers Sanctioned by OFAC

Yesterday, the US department of Treasury introduced one of the biggest sanctions in history. A total of 271 Syrian Government workers from Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) were sanctioned. This action was taken with regards to inhumane behavior towards Syrian civilians, especially with the the recent malignant chemical attack now termed as Sarin Attack. For more details, follow the official link below: https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm

US implementing new import/export Trade Regulations

The Census Bureau of US is implementing new trade regulations by adding Internal Transaction Number (ITN) for import and export data. This step was taken to improve the clarity of the data for American Businesses. This final rule is effective starting from July 18th, 2017. For detailed information, see the link below: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/04/19/2017-07646/foreign-trade-regulations-clarification-on-filing-requirements Image Source: https://commons.wik

OFAC sanctions Iranian entities for human rights abuses

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Tehran Prisons Organization and a senior official, Sohrab Soleimani, of state prison authority for human rights abuses in Iran. The sanctions, designated pursuant to EO 13553, concerns the abuse of Iranian citizen in some of egregious facilities such as Evin Prison. These sanctions are a part of a broader sanctions to counter the Iranian government's support for terrorism, ballist

Swiss Customs' Tariff Updates

There has been a major update on tariff regulations from Customs Administration of Switzerland. The changes pertain to the Harmonized System Code from 8407 to 8409 related to motor engines and parts. Originally, the code were too complex to simply use for tariff declarations and administrations. With this changes, the importation of these engines can be done by using duty reduction codes (tariff privilege) starting from the 1st of May, 2017. For further details, https://www.e

Updates on Unverified List (UVL)

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has updated the Unverified List (UVL) by adding six people. They were added to this list because their bona fides could not be verified. The verification of the bona fides is necessary as per the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). For other Entities they updated their addresses and added alternative names. All these changes in data has been reviewed and added to our content profile and now, it can be obtained digitally via PST.A

Updates on FATF List

The Department of Treasury of United States has sub-department named FinCEN, which deals with the issue of financial crimes. And this week, they have updated the list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) came into action since 2000. It is the global body for the combination of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the financing of terrorism. Now, the financial institutions will have to follow these two rules while doing their busi

Implementation of Sanction Regulation in UK

A new sanction regulation has been implemented against people violating the code of conduct regarding information and finance. Monetary penalties, of up to £1 million, will be imposed on violators. For complete information, see the document in the following link: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/3/part/7/enacted?view=plain

Impact of Brexit on Sanctions

After Brexit, if the European Union and United Kingdom assume separate decision-making apparatus for sanctions, there will likely be conflict in enforcement and it will impact both parties. As for now, the sanctions regimes will remain unchanged, and their autonomous measures regarding travel ban and asset freeze will continue to apply. Same can be said for the restrictions imposed through the UN Security Council. But, PST.AG is laying the groundwork for implementing any cha

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