Forwarders should think carefully before they file an export license application on behalf of a customer, a service that could make the forwarder liable in case of an export violation, said Tirrell McKnight, an official with the Bureau of Industry and Security's western regional office. McKnight suggested export application services should only be offered by forwarders who are confident in their export compliance, know their customers well and “want to take on that liability.”

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

A Commerce Department decision last week to suspend new export licenses for certain firearms, parts and ammunition caught the industry by surprise and has caused confusion about what types of shipments will be impacted. The announcement came after an uptick in license processing times in recent months, an industry lawyer said, and could lead to a surge in purchases of U.S. firearms by foreign customers that fear the suspension could be a harbinger of permanent change.

The State and Commerce departments are frequently seeing illegal exports of controlled items, including technical data, by companies that aren’t classifying their products correctly and may not realize they need a license.

After years of asking for U.S. defense export control reform, Australia is hopeful that change is finally imminent, said Arthur Sinodinos, Australia’s former ambassador to the U.S. before leaving the role earlier this year. Sinodinos, who said he helped oversee the creation of the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership, said he believes Congress will soon pass pending legislation to reduce technology sharing restrictions, and Australia is pushing for “as big an exemption as possible.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 27 announced an immediate 90-day suspension of new export licenses for certain firearms, components and ammunition while it reviews its firearms policies to determine whether any permanent changes are “warranted.” During the next 90 days, the agency said it will not issue any new licenses for those exports to non-government end users worldwide, apart from Ukraine, Israel or a nation listed in Country Group A:1.

American, Australian and British officials were pressed this week about why they haven’t sought to include other close allies -- including Canada, Japan or South Korea -- in an ongoing effort to reduce burdensome U.S. defense export control requirements. Speaking during a summit of government and defense industry representatives from more than 25 countries, the officials said reducing restrictions as part of the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership has proven complicated, and the nations aren’t yet ready to expand the group.

The U.S. and the EU in recent months may have had a breakthrough tracking export-controlled goods being illegally diverted through third countries to Russia, senior sanctions officials said this week. They also said the U.S., the EU and other Group of 7 nations are preparing to take new “legal action” against parties transporting Russian oil using shadow fleets in violation of the price cap.

The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked the export privileges of a Georgia resident after she admitted to trying to illegally export about $25,000 worth of optical sighting devices from the U.S. to China. As part of a settlement agreement, Dina Zhu of Lawrenceville, Georgia, will be barred from participating in any transaction subject to the Export Administration Regulations for one year from Oct. 20, but she won’t face a fine.

The U.S. government has informed American chip designer Nvidia that several of its products are subject to the new export controls unveiled by the Bureau of Industry and Security last week despite BIS saying the rules wouldn’t take effect until next month.