The aerospace industry applauded the U.S. decision to loosen export restrictions on unmanned aircrafts, saying the change may allow U.S. companies to better innovate and compete in emerging markets for new aircraft technologies. The decision, announced by the State Department July 24, will no longer subject exports of certain unmanned aerial systems to a “strong presumption of denial,” but will instead impose a case-by-case review policy on a “subset” of unmanned aircrafts that fly at speeds below 800 kph.
U.S. lawmakers are seeking ways to fund a bill that would support the U.S. semiconductor industry amid rising technology competition with China. The bill (see 2006110038), which would incentivize U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and provide more federal support for research and development, includes provisions for refundable investment tax credits and $10 billion to match state incentives.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls saw a “significant uptick” in license requests from foreign companies after the agency issued guidance on U.S. people exporting defense services abroad, DDTC Director of Licensing Catherine Hamilton said. The agency also saw an increase in voluntary disclosures as foreign companies realized they may have violated regulations, Hamilton said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has begun a broad review of new export controls on surveillance technologies going to China, which may also include additions to the agency’s Entity List, Acting Commerce Undersecretary for Industry and Security Cordell Hull said. Hull called the review “comprehensive” and “in-depth,” saying it could lead to controls over advanced surveillance tools, artificial intelligence software and biometric technologies.
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the U.K. was not “strong-armed” by the U.S. into recent actions against Beijing and Hong Kong, saying the U.K. shares many of the same policy goals as the U.S. But Raab did say recent U.S. restrictions against Huawei and Chinese officials have factored into U.K. policymaking.
The Commerce Department will add 11 China-based entities to its Entity List for their involvement in human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region, a notice released July 20 said. Nine of the entities are involved in the forced labor of Muslim minority groups and two conduct “genetic analyses” to “further the repression” of the minorities, Commerce said. The additions take effect July 22.
The State Department published its spring 2020 regulatory agenda. The agenda includes a new mention of a final rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations due to changes made by multilateral export regimes. The rule would update the U.S. Munitions List and “corresponding parts of the ITAR” based on “related treaties” and export regimes, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, that have updated their export controls. The agency is aiming to issue the rule this month.
The Commerce Department plans to add 11 Chinese-based entities to its Entity List for their involvement in human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. Nine of the entities are involved in the forced labor of Muslim minority groups and two of the entities conduct “genetic analyses” to “further the repression” of the minorities, Commerce said. The additions take effect July 22.
U.S. agencies are exploring ways to enforce industry compliance with mitigation agreements with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., despite travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a top Justice Department official said. The pandemic has specifically caused challenges around in-person site visits, which help enforcement agents ensure companies are adhering to CFIUS conditions for an approved investment, John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said.
A United Arab Emirates manufacturer will pay about $660,000 as part of a settlement agreement for violating U.S. sanctions against North Korea, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a July 16 notice. Essentra FZE Company Limited, a cigarette filter and tear tape manufacturer, illegally exported cigarette filters to North Korea through a network of front companies, including companies in China, OFAC said. Essentra FZE was paid for the shipments through a bank account belonging to a foreign branch of a U.S. bank.