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U.S. Imposes More Proliferation Sanctions
The Bush administration in September continued to show that it would
not be shy about sanctioning entities suspected of proliferation
activities, levying penalties against a Russian entity and a Chinese
firm, as well as sanctioning the Chinese government.
Since taking office, the administration has aggressively imposed
sanctions at a rate about triple that of the Clinton administration.
(See ACT,
July/August 2003.) Including these latest sanctions, Washington
has penalized foreign companies and individuals 23 separate times
this year alone.
On Sept. 16, the United States announced that the Russian firm Tula
Design Bureau would be prohibited from receiving aid, signing contracts,
or trading in military equipment with the U.S. government for one
year due to its sale of advanced conventional weapons to Iran.
Three days later, Washington announced that the Chinese firm China
North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) would be barred for two years
from trading in missile-related goods with the U.S. government because
of unspecified missile proliferation activities. The firm will also
be prohibited from shipping any items it produces to the United
States.
Both the Russian and Chinese companies are repeat offenders. Tula
Design Bureau was last sanctioned in September 2002, but NORINCO
has already been sanctioned twice this year.
The Bush administration also decided to sanction the Chinese government.
Beijing will be barred from importing any goods appearing on the
export control list of the 33-member Missile Technology Control
Regime (MTCR) for two years if the import is for China’s development
or production of electronics, space systems and equipment, or military
aircraft. The MTCR control list includes missiles, their subsystems
and components, and related technologies. Similar sanctions were
imposed on the Chinese government in September 2001.
The administration also had the option of penalizing the Kremlin
but decided not to. In its public statement, the administration
explained that providing aid to the Russian government was “important
to the national interests of the United States.”
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