The State Department will extend a “temporary modification” to the U.S. Munitions List that is intended to provide clarity to U.S. exporters about certain language in the USML, the agency said in a final rule released Aug. 26. The modification, which was scheduled to expire Aug. 30 but will now remain through Aug. 30, 2026, revised USML Category XI to clarify that “certain intelligence-analytics software” is controlled under the USML. Although the State Department said it “continues to develop a long-term solution” to address the language, that solution “will not be in place when the current temporary modification expires.” Extending the expiration date for five years is in the “best interest” of the U.S. defense industry so that the language can be revised as part of a “wholesale revision” of USML Category XI, the agency said.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said Aug. 18 it is reviewing all relevant pending and issued export licenses, as well as “other approvals,” in light of the Taliban’s actions in Afghanistan. The agency is determining their “suitability in furthering world peace, national security, and the foreign policy of the United States,” and said industry should expect “additional updates in the near future.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently withdrew a proposed rule that would have imposed export controls on certain additive manufacturing equipment used to print “energetic materials” and related software and technology. BIS sent the rule for interagency review last month and was expected to propose the equipment for control at the Wassenaar Arrangement (see 2107270004). A BIS spokesperson declined to comment.
The Bureau of Industry and Security Aug. 10 completed its interagency review of a final rule concerning firearms and other related articles that no longer warrant control on the U.S. Munitions List. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs received the rule July 13 (see 2107150006).
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Aug. 10 completed its interagency review of a proposed rule that would impose export controls on certain additive manufacturing equipment used to print “energetic materials” and related software and technology (see 2107270004). The rule, first received by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs July 23, would classify the equipment as an emerging technology and would likely be proposed for multilateral control at the Wassenaar Arrangement. BIS plans to request public comments on the rule before the controls are finalized.
President Joe Biden extended for one year a national emergency that authorizes certain U.S. export control authorities, the White House said Aug. 6. The authorization allows the U.S. to continue to carry out provisions in the Export Control Reform Act, along with other regulations. The emergency would have ended Aug. 17.
The U.S. should pursue more cooperation around multilateral export controls to address the supply chain risks within the semiconductor industry, Bureau of Industry and Security Senior Adviser Sahar Hafeez told the Information Technology Industry Council. Hafeez, speaking to ITI along with technology policy officials from the European Union and South Korea during a virtual panel last week, also stressed the importance of domestic chip investment.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission revised its export controls over “reprocessing plant components” to align with recent changes made by the multilateral Nuclear Suppliers Group, the NRC said in a July 27 final rule. The rule specifically conforms the NRC’s export controls over its “Illustrative List of Reprocessing Plant Components” with changes recently made to the NSG’s guidelines for nuclear transfers. “The NRC has determined that these changes are consistent with current U.S. policy, and will pose no unreasonable risk to the public health and safety or to the common defense and security of the United States,” the agency said. The changes include revisions to the text for “Irradiated fuel element chopping machines” and “dissolvers.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a proposed rule for interagency review that would impose export controls on certain additive manufacturing equipment used to “print energetic materials and related software and technology.” The rule, received by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs July 23, would revise the Commerce Control List to classify the equipment as an emerging technology as BIS seeks to propose the equipment for multilateral control at the Wassenaar Arrangement. BIS said Export Administration Regulations define energetic materials as “substances or mixtures that react chemically to release the energy required for their intended application,” and subclasses include explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants. The rule will request public comments so the scope of the proposed controls “will be effective and appropriate,” BIS said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is again considering a rule that would make changes to its Strategic Trade Authorization license exception. The proposed rule, which was sent for interagency review June 13, would clarify the availability and expand restrictions on the availability of license exception STA under the Export Administration Regulations. BIS sent the rule for review last year but eventually withdrew it to conduct “further informal interagency consultation” (see 2011130008). STA authorizes certain exports, reexports and transfers of software source code and technology to foreign nationals in lieu of a license that would normally be required.