A State Department policy change that lifts statutory debarments on companies that have export privileges still banned is a practical step toward rewarding past violators who aren't yet ready for complete reinstatement, lawyers say. The policy change, announced in a March 4 notice, came as State lifted a debarment against Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Instrument Company (RMI) -- stemming from 2010 violations of the Arms Export Control Act -- without reinstating RMI’s export privileges.
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
CBP would like even more public feedback on how to modernize the agency's processes and regulations, CBP said in a notice. CBP said it is reopening the comment period until April 11 to allow for new input after it held a March 1 meeting to discuss a wide range of ideas for updates. The March 1 meeting included few mentions of exports, but the docket of the original request for comments includes multiple suggestions and criticisms on the export side.
The U.S. plans to increase sanctions on Iran by targeting certain foreign entities doing business with the country, potentially creating more compliance issues for American companies, according to Steven Brotherton, principal at KPMG. Speaking at a KPMG export controls information event, Brotherton said he was told in a recent meeting with an official from the Department of State’s Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions sector that the U.S. administration will be doing “a number of things to really ratchet up the sanctions on Iran.”