Selling Russian Assets May Require Multiple Licenses, Official Says

U.S. companies interested in divesting Russian assets that are subject to the Export Administration Regulations may need to obtain multiple licenses from the U.S. government, a Commerce Department official said March 28.

The Bureau of Industry and Security recommends that such companies apply for an export license from the agency, the official said, speaking on background under a policy for certain career personnel at the BIS annual Update Conference. "We do have ways to deal with that and we understand the situation a lot of companies are in."

A license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control also may be required, the official added.

U.S.-Russian economic activity has declined dramatically since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, spurring American companies to reduce or eliminate their presence in Russia. By the end of 2023, U.S. exports to Russia had fallen 86%, with the remaining trade concentrated in agricultural and medical items, a second Commerce official said.

BIS has helped fuel that contraction by placing more than 900 parties on the Entity List for supporting Russia’s war (see 2402230035). With Russia’s invasion not expected to end anytime soon, “I would not be surprised if we added more controls for Russia in the future,” the first Commerce official said.