The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls plans to again extend a rule that temporarily suspended restrictions on certain defense exports to Cyprus, the agency said last week. Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that Cyprus has “met the necessary conditions” to continue to receive U.S. defense exports through FY 2023, the agency said, and the U.S. will continue to suspend its policy of denial for all exports to Cyprus of items on the U.S. Munition List. DDTC said it will soon publish a Federal Register notice to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to reflect the change.

The Bureau of Industry and Security completed an interagency review for a final rule that would implement certain export control decisions agreed to at the multilateral Australia Group. The rule, sent for review last month (see 2208180018) and completed Sept. 9, would place controls on certain marine toxins, plant pathogens and biological equipment.

The Commerce Department is planning to expand export controls over certain semiconductor items destined to China (see 2208010011) next month, including those used for artificial intelligence and chipmaking tools, Reuters reported Sept. 11. Commerce already outlined some new restrictions in letters earlier this year to KLA, Lam Research and Applied Materials, Reuters said, which include new export licensing requirements on chipmaking equipment to Chinese factories capable of making chips more advanced than 14 nanometers. The new rules would also codify restrictions outlined by Commerce in letters to NVIDIA and AMD last month (see 2209010059), the report said.

The State Department seeks comments by Nov. 7 on procedures and requirements related to license exemptions for intra-company, intra-organization, and intra-governmental transfers to employees who are dual nationals or third-country nationals. The agency is seeking Office and Management and Budget approval to extend the currently approved information collection, which may include technology security and clearance plans, screening records and non-disclosure agreements under 19 CFR 126.18.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security charged PJSC Lukoil, a Russian multinational energy company, with violations of the Export Control Reform Act for the export of a U.S.-manufactured aircraft from Dubai to Russia, according to an Aug. 31 notice. BIS says that Lukoil "effectively owned, controlled, chartered or leased, through a series of shell companies, at least one U.S.-origin aircraft" subject to the Export Administration Regulations and that its export in March violated license requirements imposed in February.

The Export-Import Bank hasn’t approved a new transaction involving dual-use goods since 2012 and that isn't likely to change in the future, the Government Accountability Office reported Aug. 30. Ex-Im officials told GAO that "no viable applications for dual-use projects reached EXIM’s Board of Directors for approval in fiscal year 2021 or in fiscal year 2022 as of August 2022."

The Bureau of Industry and Security recently revoked export privileges for two people after they illegally exported controlled items from the U.S.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is updating its website and Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS) to reflect the International Traffic in Arms Regulations reorganization that takes effect Sept. 6 (see 2203220013), DDTC said. Updates are being made “on a rolling basis,” with the changes to the DDTC website expected to be “completed and updated” no later than Sept. 9, the agency said. Effective Sept. 6, “all DECCS applications (Registration, Licensing, Advisory Opinions, and Commodity Jurisdictions) will reflect the revised ITAR citations,” it said.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed an interagency review of a Bureau of Industry and Security prerule that could lead to new emerging technology export controls (see 2208020009) on “instruments for the automated chemical synthesis of peptides.” The proposed rule, which was mentioned in the agency’s spring regulatory agenda (see 2206270007), would seek public comments on the controls and help BIS determine whether the instruments could provide the U.S. or its adversaries a “qualitative military or intelligence advantage.” OIRA completed its review on Aug 26.

The Bureau of Industry and Security has prevented more than 100 illegal exports to Russia and Belarus and detained or seized $93 million worth of shipments since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the agency said in an Aug. 25 news release. It also said it has expedited license approvals for more than $1 billion in defense equipment and services for Ukraine and has added 335 parties to its Entity List for supporting Russia’s military during that same time period.