Having received no requests to testify on Russia's fulfillment of its international trade commitments as a World Trade Organization member, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a notice it's canceling the planned Oct. 4 virtual public hearing on Russia's compliance, meant to inform USTR's report to Congress.
The State Department approved a potential $250 million military sale to Kuwait, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Sept. 27. The sale includes “M1A2K tank operational and training ammunition” and related equipment, and the principal contractor will be General Dynamics.
The Bureau of Industry and Security extended the public comment period on an information collection related to Form BIS–999. The form, a Request for Special Priorities Assistance, is required for enforcement and administration of the Defense Production Act, the Selective Service Act and the Defense Priorities and Allocation System regulation. Contractors use the form to “obtain timely delivery of products, materials, or services from suppliers, or for any other reason under the DPAS, in support of approved national programs,” BIS said. The agency is allowing for an additional 30 days of comments.
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review that will provide guidance on “penalty determinations” handed out in anti-boycott-related case settlements. The rule was sent for interagency review Sept. 26.
The State Department is seeking comments on an information collection involving requests to change end-user, end-use and “destination of hardware” information and open general licenses, the agency said in a notice this week. Those requests are submitted to the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls before DDTC can approve exports of certain defense goods to parties other than those stated on a license. Comments are due Nov. 28.
The Bureau of Industry and Security extended the comment period for an information collection related to international import certificates (see 2206100006). Importers use the certificate to certify to the U.S. government that they won’t reexport the goods “except in accordance with the export control regulations” of the U.S. BIS is allowing for another 30 days of public comments.
The State Department Sept. 26 authorized $457.5 million in "civilian security assistance" to Ukraine, which will help "law enforcement and criminal justice agencies to improve their operational capacity and save lives," the agency said. The U.S. has committed more than $645 million in assistance to Ukraine since December 2021, which has included "personal protective equipment, medical supplies, and armored vehicles," the agency said.
The Treasury Department is seeking public comments on an information collection related to its information sharing efforts with other government agencies. FinCEN said it “receives requests from law enforcement, reviews those requests, posts those requests on a secure internet website, and sends notifications to designated contacts within financial institutions” across the U.S. once every two weeks. Financial institutions are required to “query their records for data matches” involving certain accounts and transactions, the agency said, and “have two weeks from the posting date of the request to respond with any positive matches.” Comments on the information collection are due Oct. 27.
The Biden administration and TikTok drafted a “preliminary” agreement to resolve national security concerns raised by ByteDance, the app’s Chinese owner, but face “hurdles” before the agreement can be finalized, The New York Times reported Sept. 26. Under the draft deal, which will need to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., TikTok would restructure its “data security and governance” but would not be required to divest itself from ByteDance, the report said. Multiple agencies are skeptical the agreement will sufficiently address the U.S.’s national security concerns, the report said, which “could force changes to the terms and drag out a final resolution for months.”
Linda Harris Crovella will serve as an administrative law judge of the Federal Maritime Commission, the FMC said this week. She previously served as an administrative law judge with the Social Security Administration. “The caseload of our Office of the Administrative Law Judge has sharply increased over the past two years resulting from more parties seeking relief to shipping disputes by using the formal complaints process,” FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said. “Expanding the capabilities and resources of this critical function supports my priority that the Commission emphasize its enforcement work.”