The Treasury Department this week published a final rule that will put in place safeguards around sensitive information submitted to the agency as part of its new beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements, which are designed to help the government prevent sanctioned parties and others from hiding money or property in the U.S. The rule adopts a range of changes from the proposed version released last year, including one that Treasury said will allow financial institutions to access information from a newly created BOI database for a broader set of reasons, including to help them conduct certain sanctions due diligence.

A new executive order scheduled to be signed by President Joe Biden Dec. 22 will give the U.S. new authority to sanction financial institutions that facilitate transactions for companies sending controlled goods to Russia.

The oil shipping industry will soon be required to comply with new attestation and record-keeping rules as part of the global price cap on Russian oil, the Treasury Department said in an updated price cap guidance released Dec. 20. The agency also issued new sanctions against a Russian government-controlled ship manager and other traders who frequently transport Russian oil above the price cap.

The U.S. will grant new Section 232 exclusions for steel and aluminum imports from the EU as part of a deal that will also extend the tariff rate quotas on EU steel and aluminum and avoid EU retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports.

The Bureau of Industry and Security this week added 13 Chinese companies to its Unverified List after it was unable to verify the “legitimacy and reliability” of the entities through end-use checks, including their ability to responsibly receive controlled U.S. exports. If BIS is unable to complete an end-use check on those companies within 60 days, it can move them to the more restrictive Entity List.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

The U.S. this week sanctioned 10 companies and four people with ties to Iran’s unmanned drone program, including Hossein Hatefi Ardakani, the Iranian-based leader of the network who helped illegally procure hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of U.S. and foreign-made components to Iran. Along with the new sanctions, DOJ charged Ardakani and his accomplice, China-based Gary Lam, for violating U.S. export controls.

The EU this week announced a new wide-ranging package of Russia sanctions, including designations of more than 140 people and companies as well as new import restrictions on Russian raw materials used to produce certain metals and new export controls on dual-use technology and industrial goods. The package also includes new restrictions on exports of industrial-related services, a broader ban on Russian energy products, a “tighter obligation” for member states to trace assets of sanctioned parties, new anti-sanctions circumvention measures and more.

The U.K. announced plans this week to put in place a carbon border adjustment mechanism, which could lead to new import taxes and due diligence requirements on aluminum, cement, ceramics, fertilizer, glass, hydrogen, iron, steel and other industrial sectors associated with high carbon emissions. The mechanism, which is expected to be implemented in 2027, came after a 12-week public comment period in which over 100 representatives from industry, non-governmental organizations, think tanks and academia gave input about the types of products that should be covered, how import taxes should be calculated, a timeline for implementation and more.

If U.S. policymakers become tempted to use sanctions to prevent a potential conflict with China, they should expect to face a wide range of challenges in wielding such economic tools, speakers said at a Dec. 15 event hosted by the Center for a New American Security.