As the Biden administration prepares to issue its long-awaited national security strategy, it’s also hoping to reduce barriers to sharing technology with allies and speed up its foreign military sales program, said Cara Abercrombie, a National Security Council official. Abercrombie, speaking during a Sept. 27 defense industry conference hosted by IDEEA, said she hopes these initiatives lead to more cooperation with allies, particularly as the U.S. and others continue to sanction Russia and send weapons to Ukraine.
The State Department is monitoring whether the U.S. delivery of certain F-35 aircraft -- which were revealed this month to contain certain Chinese components -- violated export controls, senior agency official Mike Miller said. He said the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is “certainly tracking” the case but declined to say whether the agency will issue any penalties. “As to what compliance actions we may be taking with the company,” Miller said, “I can’t speak to that in specific.”
Although President Joe Biden’s recent executive order on foreign direct investment isn’t expected to significantly change review outcomes, it sends a clear signal to industry about the U.S.’s FDI priorities and could help companies better understand whether they should submit a voluntary filing, law firms said this month. One firm said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. may use the order as further reason to reach out to businesses about non-notified transactions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced two separate settlement agreements this week, fining a Switzerland- and a Monaco-based wealth management company for violating U.S. sanctions. OFAC said both companies committed violations due to “deficiencies” in their sanctions compliance practices.
The Bureau of Industry and Security updated its restricted aircraft list with another Iranian-owned and -operated plane after it violated U.S. export controls, the agency said this week. BIS said the U.S.-origin cargo plane -- owned by Saha Airlines, which is operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force -- provided cargo flight services to Russia.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed by one month a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced Sept. 23. The ports had planned to begin imposing the fee in November 2021 but postponed it each week until July 29, when the ports announced their first one-month postponement (see 2207290053). The latest one-month extension delays the effective date until Oct. 21.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week updated an Iran-related general license and guidance to expand the types of internet and communications services and exports that can be provided to Iran. Updated General License D2 “dramatically increases” U.S. support for internet freedom in Iran, a State Department official said, adding that the announcement brings U.S. sanctions guidance "in line with changes in modern technology.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security should clarify a number of items related to its new upcoming export controls on certain electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) software (see 2208120038 and 2208250036), including its definition for “specially designed,” semiconductor companies told the agency in comments this month. BIS should also consider updating other areas of the control, some said, including making it eligible for License Exception TSR (Technology and software under restriction).
A technical advisory committee may ask the Bureau of Industry and Security to allow quarterly filings in the Automated Export System for certain exports to China, Russia and Venezuela. The change could make certain AES filings more efficient, members of the Transportation and Related Equipment Technical Advisory committee said during a Sept. 21 meeting.
The Federal Maritime Commission has received nearly 100 charge complaints and numerous questions related to the Ocean Shipping Reform Act since its enactment earlier this year, FMC official Lucille Marvin said during a Sept. 21 FMC meeting. She also said the agency is making progress on a range of OSRA provisions and other agency priorities, including one that will result in a set of best practices for chassis pools and another that will formally propose new demurrage and detention billing requirements.