The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security's upcoming proposed rules on emerging technologies will be narrow, impacting only specific slices of technologies, according to a Dec. 17 Reuters report. Commerce is finalizing proposed rules on quantum diluted refrigerators, a rule regulating 3D printing for explosives, “Gate-All-Around Field Effect transistor technology” (GAAFET) and two rules restricting sales of chemicals used to make Russian nerve agent Novichok and “single-use chambers for chemical reactions,” Reuters said. A Commerce rule for GAAFET is in the proposed rule stage, according to a recent Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs notice. A top Commerce official recently pinpointed six categories in which the agency plans to propose the rules (see 1912160032), and BIS officials have said for months the rules will be narrow (see 1912160006, 1911200045 and 1906280057).

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security's New England field offices are adding agents and increasing prosecutions and investigations, according to William Higgins, a special agent in charge of BIS’s Office of Export Enforcement. Higgins said the changes are particularly reflected in the OEE’s Boston office, which plans to increase staff to 14 agents before 2020. “There has been a sea change in the last few years, especially in the Boston area,” Higgins said, speaking during a Dec. 13 event hosted by the Massachusetts Export Center. “We’re increasing the amount of agents we have significantly.”

Member nations adopted “a number of” new export controls at the Wassenaar Arrangement’s plenary session earlier this month, with a focus on “proliferation-sensitive exports,” according to a Dec. 6 statement released by the plenary chair. They also updated a 2007 guidance for exports of small arms and light weapons and amended a guidance for export controls on the disposal of surplus or demilitarized military equipment. The member states also released a summary of the changes made to multilateral export controls of dual-use goods and technologies. A 243-page report describes the list of dual-use goods and technologies discussed during the meetings.

The Commerce Department denied Paul Stuart Brunt export privileges after he was convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act, Commerce said in a notice. Brunt illegally exported firearms controlled under the U.S. Munitions List to Turkey and Iraq, the notice said. He was convicted March 1, 2019, and sentenced to three years of probation, required to perform 200 hours of community service and fined $20,000, the agency said. Commerce revoked Brunt’s export privileges for 10 years from his date of conviction.

The Department of Commerce denied Oguzhan Aydin export privileges after he was convicted of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Commerce said in a notice. Aydin illegally exported a “General Electric CF6-50c2” engine with the intent to supply the engine to Iran’s Mahan Airways, which also faces an export denial order (see 1912050032). Aydin shipped the engine through Turkey before it reached Iran, Commerce said. Aydin was convicted Aug. 3, 2016, and sentenced to about nine months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100 fine. He was also added to the State Department’s Debarred List, the notice said. Commerce revoked Aydin’s export privileges for 10 years from his date of conviction.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on procedures under which parties can request to be removed from Commerce’s Entity List and Unverified List, according to a Dec. 10 notice in the Federal Register. The information collection also includes procedures for requesting a “modification” to an entry on either list, BIS said. Comments are due Feb. 10, 2020.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security made three technical corrections to its November notice that added 22 entities to its Entity List (see 1911120025). The corrections add dates and change the wording of entries for Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security renewed an export denial order for Mahan Airways because the airline continues to violate the order and the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said in a notice. The Iranian airline has been on the banned list since 2008, and the notice renewed the ban for 180 days, BIS said. Since the order was last renewed June 5 (see 1906060054), the U.S. has discovered that the airline is now operating a U.S.-origin Boeing 747 between Iranian airports in Tehran, Kish Island and Mashhad. The aircraft “appears to be” one of three planes Mahan illegally acquired through Blue Airways of Armenia and United Kingdom-based Balli Group, BIS said. In addition, Mahan was involved in the illegal export of a U.S.-origin atomic absorption spectrometer from the U.S. to Iran via the United Arab Emirates in November. The spectrometer is subject to the EAR, and the export violated the terms of Mahan’s denial order, BIS said.

A U.S. defense technology manufacturer said it takes U.S. export controls “very seriously” and vowed to improve its compliance after it settled for $1 million with the State Department for export violations. The company, AeroVironment, illegally exported goods and technical data in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (see 1911200054). “We understand the importance of protecting our technology while making it available to help protect our allies,” Melissa Brown, AeroVironment’s vice president and general counsel, said in a Nov. 21 statement. “We will continue to enhance our export controls and appreciate the Department of State’s acknowledgement of the corrective actions we have already taken.”

Due to an upcoming change, companies should make sure they have written policies for complying with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations before registering, renewing or amending their ITAR registrations, according to a Nov. 13 post from Export Solutions. That change relates to the submission of ITAR registrations as part of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls’ effort to update its processes for administration of the ITAR, the post said. The change will “most likely” take effect before 2020, Export Solutions said.