The Departments of State and Commerce are each issuing separate but complementary proposed rules regarding personal services to foreign defense and intelligence activities. State's review of "defense service" in the ITAR focused on identifying activities of U.S. persons that provide a critical military or intelligence advantage such that they warrant control under the ITAR and are activities that are not currently subject to the ITAR; or are controlled under the ITAR, but the current control language would benefit from additional clarity..
Commerce released two new proposed rules governing military and intelligence end uses and end users, including activities by U.S. persons, as well as amendments to the EAR controls on Foreign-Security End Users (FSEUs) and expanding controls on activities of “U.S. persons.” BIS is proposing amendments to control “support” furnished by “U.S. persons” to identified foreign- security end users. These rules propose to implement the broadest expansion of presidential export control authority since the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) was signed in August 2018.
July 24 the Bureau of Industy and Security published a Final Rule formalizing the changes to the Export Administration Regulations imposed by Congress in the emergency supplemental appropriation [HR 815] signed into law April 24th. As a result of this new FDP Rule, exporters require a U.S. Government authorization for transfer of these items when produced outside the United States with certain U.S. technology, software, or production equipment when exports are destined to Iran or for use in connection with certain equipment destined to Iran, even when such items were never exported from the United States.
The long-awaited Standards Rule has been published by the Commerce Department, revising Export Administration Regulations to facilitate US industry participation in international standards setting bodies. In this rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to revise the scope and the terms used in the EAR to describe “standards-related activities” that are subject to the EAR. As we reported last month [12385] lack of clear guidance from Commerce has chilled come companies' participation for fear of running afoul of export controls.
The nine nuclear-armed states—the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Israel—continued to modernize their nuclear arsenals and several deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2023, according to the most recent SIPRI Yearbook.
Following on the June 18 Indictments of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a Mexico-based money launderer and China-based members of a money laundering organization with criminal links to the Sinaloa Cartel Monday.. The United States is working with Chinese authorities to target illicit financing networks, including those linked to the fentanyl trade. Chinese Money Laundering Organizations are now one of the key actors laundering money professionally in the United States and worldwide, and are rapidly becoming one of the most prominent money laundering threat actors facing the U.S. financial system.
The European Council adopted Monday a 14th package of economic and individual restrictive measures on Russia. The package includes restrictive measures on additional 116 individuals and entities , as well as sectoral measures on Energy, Third-Country Subsidiaries and other Anti-Circumvention measures, Financial Communications Systems and Defense Industrial Base, Political Activities, Port Access for specific vessels, dual-use and commodity trade controls, as well as legal protections for sanctions compliance and intellectual property.
The Treasury Department Friday issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to implement Executive Order 14105 of August 9, 2023, “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern”. The NPRM builds on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by Treasury last August and provides the full draft regulations and explanatory discussion regarding the intent of the proposal, and solicits comment from the public
Just in case you're still depending on a Russian vendor for your cybersecurity, the Commerce Department has banned Kaspersky Labs from directly or indirectly providing anti-virus software and cybersecurity products or services in the United States or to U.S. persons. The Final Determination by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is the first of its kind and is the first Final Determination issued by BIS’s Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS).
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a three-year denial order against a Portland, Oregon, package forwarding service prohibiting the firm from from participating in all exports under BIS jurisdiction from the United States. “If a forwarding company – with an entire business model based on exports – fails to implement an adequate compliance program even while subject to a suspended denial order, it should not be able to export items subject to the EAR from the United States,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod.
The Treasury and State Departments are issuing sweeping new measures guided by G7 commitments to intensify the pressure on Russia for its continued war against Ukraine. Wednesday's actions ratchet up the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign financial institutions that deal with Russia’s war economy; restrict the ability of Russian military-industrial base to take advantage of certain U.S. software and information technology (IT) services; and, together with the Department of State, target more than 300 individuals and entities.
The US Export-Import Bank has failed to make an impact on trade and investment in sub-Saharan Africa, despite a congressional mandate for expansion and extensive overseas travel by EXIM President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Reta Jo Lewis.
A senior Treasury Department official called for European allies to line up in applying pressure to Beijing to cease supporting the Kremlin's war efforts. Citing the Russian econmy's "war footing," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said "this war is not just an existential threat to Ukraine, but to Europe and our national security."
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is amending the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (the “Regulations”) to further implement elements of the policy announced by the Administration on May 16, 2022, Cuban entrepreneurs' access to internet-based services and banking facilities are improved, while the restrictions on transactions with state-owned entities remain fully in force.
Two Florida men have pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently procure deeply discounted products from Massachusetts biochemical company Sigma-Aldrich Inc., doing business as MilliporeSigma, and export them to China using falsified export documents. As a result of MilliporeSigma’s timely self-disclosure and extraordinary cooperation, MilliporeSigma will not be charged, despite the criminal wrongdoing committed by a MilliporeSigma employee.
BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, and Volkswagen all rely on suppliers banned for using Uyghur forced labor, according to a report issued by the Senate Finance Committee. Interviews and documents obtained by committee staff show that Bourns, Inc., a California-based auto supplier, had sourced components from Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group, a company added to the UFLPA Entity List in December 2023, and whose goods are presumed to be made with forced labor.
After deftly avoiding the sanctions levied in the past on US Defense contractors by Beijing for their transactions with Taipei, Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security unit has been placed on the Ministry of Commerce's “unreliable entities list" (UEL). In April MofCom sanctioned dronemaker General Atomics and General Dynamics Land Systems, while the announcement omitted Boeing, the maker of Taipei's Harpoon anti-ship misssile system. The May 20 announcement reiterates the April actions, adding Boeing.
The Justice Department announced a series of coordinated actions to disrupt the illicit revenue generation efforts North Korean information Technology workers, while the State Department announced a $5 million reward to help shut down the schemes.
In response to Ankara's suspension of trade with Israel,The US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued an antiboycott advisory on Turkey. U.S. companies operating in Türkiye, in particular, are cautioned to be alert to their receipt of any requests to refrain from importing or exporting goods to or from Israel or to provide certification that the goods are not of Israeli origin or do not contain Israeli-origin components or materials.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of 26 textile companies based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List.