The US is threatening to add companies to a trade blacklist if they breach new export bans against Russia, as it increases efforts to keep a vast array of technology out of the country after it invaded Ukraine last month.
More specifically, Reuters reports that the U.S. Department of Commerce, which oversees export controls, is mobilizing staff around the globe to stop illicit shipments of computers, aircraft parts, marine equipment and other technology to Russia, partnering with allied countries and U.S. law enforcement agencies like the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to crack down on the newly illegal trade.
The goal is to enforce new restrictions on shipments to Russia of both U.S. and foreign commodities, technology and software, if produced with U.S. equipment, technology or software. The restrictions also apply to Belarus.
In fact, already some of the biggest names in tech, like Microsoft Corp and Intel Corp, have announced they will halt shipments to Russia.The mostly Russian companies added to the list are barred from buying goods without licenses, which will be denied.
However, the measures, coupled with tough banking sanctions and the targeting of Russian oligarchs, have not deterred Moscow, whose forces have seized Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and besieged and bombarded several cities.
As part of the highly coordinated responses to the invasion, foreign partners must either comply with U.S. restrictions on items made with American equipment, or impose similar rules.
In addition, while the Commerce Department does not have an export control officer in Russia, but export control officers are posted in strategic locations and will be on the lookout for illegally diverted goods. These officers conduct pre-license checks and post-shipment verifications, ensuring the company that would get the goods is not a drop box.
The department will also watch out for anomalies in trading patterns and for new parties and will also check licensing and shipping documentation in an effort to catch companies illegally shipping items to Russia.