Foreign Policy, POLITICO Quote Kevin Wolf on Export Controls Aimed at Russia

For its article “Biden Enlists Asian Partners for Unprecedented Russia Sanctions Plans,” Foreign Policy quoted Akin Gump international trade partner Kevin Wolf on the Biden-Harris administration’s attempts to build support among Asian states for strong sanctions and export control packages aimed at Russia in response to that state’s actions towards Ukraine. The story and a quote from Wolf were picked up by POLITICO.

The article notes that Singapore, Japan and Taiwan, all major producer of semiconductors and other critical high-tech goods, have all offered support for the administration’s policies.

Wolf—a former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, Bureau of Industry and Security with extensive experience in export control regimes—said, “All semiconductors on the planet are made with U.S. software or tools in part, so this will catch any destined to Russia. Unlike sanctions, jurisdiction attaches to the item—and the nationality of the companies involved is irrelevant.”

The article states that export control restrictions could also severely affect European firms trading with Russia. Wolf noted that companies are bracing for some of the U.S. government’s most extensive, complicated export controls ever. He said, “It’s kind of like the Swiss cheese approach. The Europeans and the other [countries] don’t really have either the legal authority or the history of these types of extraterritorial and novel controls … the U.S. controls will, by definition, be vastly broader in scope than anything any other ally will do.”