The US has blacklisted seven Indian and 42 Chinese companies for on-selling US-made microchips to Russia in violation of sanctions, according to a document released here on Friday. Seven entities from Finland, Germany, Turkey, the UAE and the UK were also added to the trade export control list for helping Russia directly or indirectly, the US Commerce Department said.
These companies need special license to continue business
All the entities are accused of activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States, said the Federal Register filing. The detailed list of companies was not available. American and the blacklisted companies will now need to apply for a special license to continue selling to the firms. This is rarely granted.
The blacklisting, under the Department of Commerce’s Entity List, comes as the circuits supplied to Russia included microelectronics that Moscow uses for precision guidance systems in missiles and drones launched against civilian targets in Ukraine, the Commerce Department said. Today’s additions to the Entity List provide a clear message: if you supply the Russian defence sector with US-origin technology, we will find out, and we will take action, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said.
US action comes after Russian missile strike in Ukraine
The swift US action came after a Russian missile strike in a village in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday that killed at least 52 people in one of the most deadly attacks during 20 months of fighting. The move also comes amid a brewing US-China trade war on microchip sales, with the administration of US President Joe Biden banning the export of technology to make high-end chips to China and Beijing hitting back by banning US chipmaker Micron from selling in China’s market.
