The Trump administration’s easing of export restrictions for certain unmanned drones was an overdue decision that could allow American companies to better compete in foreign markets and boost U.S. cooperation with allies, a defense policy researcher and former Pentagon official said Wednesday. During a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar, they said the announcement highlights the shortcomings of the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), arguing that it and other U.S. arms control policies have failed to keep up with the pace of technology.
Although there remains a “contentious” debate around how exactly the U.S. should impose export controls on high-end AI chips, White House adviser Jacob Helberg said he believes the Trump administration will find a way to restrict the most sensitive technologies while still making sure the rest of the world relies on AI hardware, software and models exported from the U.S., not from China. Helberg said he expects the administration to provide clearer answers in the coming months.
ShapeShift, a defunct Swiss cryptocurrency exchange that operated out of Colorado, will pay $750,000 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control to resolve allegations that it violated sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. OFAC said the exchange had no sanctions compliance program and illegally allowed users in those countries to use its platform for digital asset transactions.
Chinese semiconductor company Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. accused the Bureau of Industry and Security of illegally withholding documents related to its placement on the Entity List, adding that the government acted on "inaccurate" information from YMTC competitors when it imposed stringent export license requirements on the company in 2022. The firm also questioned whether the End-User Review Committee, the interagency group that makes decisions on adding or removing companies from the Entity List, followed proper protocol when it voted to put YMTC on the list.
Shipping industry officials last week called for a uniform, global set of rules and sanctions to address a rise in shadow fleet vessels, saying those tankers are presenting increasing safety and security risks for the maritime industry.
The European Commission's next sanctions package against Russia will ban imports of Russian liquefied natural gas, designate more shadow fleet vessels, target more Russian banks, introduce new export controls and more, President Ursula von der Leyen announced last week.
Planet Labs, a California-based Earth imaging company, disclosed this month that it has submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to the Bureau of Industry and Security about potential export control violations.
Beijing’s directive this week that banned its top technology companies from buying certain Nvidia chips could be aimed at boosting its leverage amid trade negotiations with the U.S., technology policy analysts said. But they also said the U.S. shouldn’t assume the ban is just a negotiating tactic, arguing that it may signal that China is doubling down on efforts to reduce its dependence on advanced U.S. chips and other technologies.
The State Department has been approving the vast majority of export license applications involving South Korea, a senior agency official said this week, stressing that the government doesn’t want to be an impediment to defense trade with the close U.S. ally.
The State Department is changing the way it treats exports of unmanned drones, a shift that's expected to allow firms to more easily obtain export approvals.