The State Department approved two potential military sales to India worth $63 million and $92 million, respectively, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said April 13. The first sale includes 19 torpedoes and equipment, and the second sale includes 10 harpoon “air launched missiles.” The principal contractor for the first sale is Raytheon Integrated Defense System, and the contractor for the second is Boeing.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States approved a resolution to temporarily cease financing for exports of personal protective equipment, EXIM said in an April 14 press release. Financing will no longer be available through Sept. 30 for certain “critically needed” medical supplies and equipment, such as masks, gloves, face shields and other items identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency last week (see 2004080018). EXIM said it will contact insured exporters of medical equipment and make sure their existing agreements only cover exports that “reflect the new EXIM policy,” the bank said. Financing for medical equipment represents “a relatively small portion of EXIM’s overall financing portfolio,” at less than 1%, the bank said.

The Trump administration eased its initial restrictions on exports of personal protective equipment (2004080018) after pushback from industry, which pointed out several “shortcomings” of the broad restrictions in a conference call with agencies last week, according to an April 14 Bloomberg report. The pushback resulted in the April 9 CBP memo that introduced several limitations on the scope of the restrictions, including exemptions for exports to Canada and Mexico (see 2004090069). On the call, companies and their lawyers said the restrictions would affect shipments to company offices overseas and to U.S. military bases abroad, the report said.

The State Department approved a potential $675 million military sale to South Korea, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said April 10. The sale includes support and services for its F-35 aircraft, engines and weapons. The principal contractors are Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney.

The State Department approved a potential $40.55 million military sale to the Netherlands, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said April 10. The sale includes 199 “Excalibur Increment IB M982Al tactical projectiles” and other equipment. The prime contractor is Raytheon.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security this week postponed several upcoming export compliance seminars due to the COVID-19 pandemic response and announced an online-only export control conference for May. The online conference, which will run May 19-22, will cover a range of export compliance topics, BIS said, including the scope of the Export Administration Regulations, classifying items for export, using license exceptions, the de minimis and direct product rules, export enforcement and more. The conference will be hosted by “BIS specialists” during a daily three-hour session from 9 a.m. to noon. The conference will also include a question-and-answer session. Note that the conference is on Pacific Daylight Time.

The State Department’s Defense Trade Advisory Group will hold its May 14 meeting online due to the measures in place to control the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said in a notice. The meeting will feature discussions on improvements surrounding the Defense Export Control and Compliance System (see 2002190025), improving compliance guidelines for companies and universities, and more. The group, composed of industry representatives in the defense trade sector, advises the State Department on policies, regulations and technical issues impacting defense trade.

Marshall Billingslea, the Treasury Department's former assistant secretary for terrorist financing, was named the special presidential envoy for arms control, the State Department said April 10. In the role, Billingslea will lead U.S. arms control negotiations, which will include a “new era” of arms control that “moves beyond the bilateral treaties of the past,” the State Department said. Billingslea has staunchly defended the U.S. sanctions and its maximum pressure campaign against Iran (see 1909130064).

The Treasury Department issued a current list of countries that require or may require participation in, or cooperation with, an international boycott. The list includes Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, unchanged from the previous iteration of the list.

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will hold an April 16 webinar on tips and tricks for using the Defense Export Control and Compliance System (see 2002190025), DDTC said April 8. The webinar will include commonly asked questions, a best-practices discussion and a question-and-answer session. The webinar will also cover updates to the DECCS enrollment process, registration renewal procedures, setting up license groups and signing a license as an empowered official.