Although companies must typically submit voluntary self-disclosures directly to DOJ in order to receive penalty mitigation credit with the agency for a potential trade or sanctions violation, that doesn’t mean DOJ will never take into account a disclosure to another agency, said Alamdar Hamdani, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week launched a new online voluntary disclosure portal that it said will be a more "streamlined, secure method" for self-reporting possible sanctions violations to OFAC.
“An executive order signed by President Donald Trump Feb. 6 directs U.S. agencies to prioritize arms sales to allies that "contribute" to U.S. economic security; develop clear criteria for which weapons and defense items need enhanced end-use monitoring; create a new task force to promote military sales; report about export licenses; and more.
The Treasury Department last week asked for public feedback about how it should shape its new fast-track process for certain deals filed with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. It also previewed the kinds of business information it may ask participants to provide and national security conditions they must meet once the agency deploys the so-called known investor program, which is still operating as a pilot for a small number of investors.
The U.S. can’t rely only on export controls to stay ahead of China technologically, said Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He also said he believes the administration’s willingness to ease export controls on certain advanced chips doesn’t necessarily mean the U.S. is becoming less hawkish against China.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is officially removing Cambodia from the Export Administration Regulations’ list of countries subject to an arms embargo, about two months after the State Department made a similar change.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has effectively shut down its technical advisory committees without telling most members, quietly ending its involvement in most of the joint industry-government groups that it has used for years to solicit expert feedback on export controls, Export Compliance Daily has learned.
The U.K. is revamping how it enforces financial sanctions, including by increasing its maximum penalty amounts, changing how it applies penalty discounts for voluntary disclosures, and allowing certain enforcement cases to be resolved through settlements.
The new fast-track pilot program of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. appears to be open to only a very small number of investors, and the Treasury Department may not be ready to deploy it more broadly until next year, a former senior U.S. official said last week.
The EU’s plans to increase defense spending over the next several years could be hampered by burdensome export rules under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, a senior EU diplomat said this week.