The State Department's Defense Security Cooperation Agency on May 10 approved a $1.7 billion military sale to Canada. The sale includes an “AEGIS Combat System” and related equipment. The prime contractor will be Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, but a “significant number” of other companies under contract with the Navy will provide components, systems and engineering services.
Semiconductor and technology companies are calling for increased federal semiconductor funding amid a congressional push to boost supply chain competitiveness and domestic innovation. The Semiconductors in America Coalition, which includes Semiconductor Industry Association members Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services and others, said its “primary focus” is to convince Congress to fund the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (see 2102180062), a bill passed earlier this year.
Two companies weren’t penalized after disclosing potential export control and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations to U.S. agencies, according to recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings. A10 Networks Inc., a software and hardware manufacturing company, said in its April 30 filing it received a warning letter from the Bureau of Industry and Security “in lieu of fines and penalties” after voluntarily disclosing potential illegal exports of encryption products (see 2011040041). Pactiv Evergreen, a North American food and beverage packaging company, said in its May 6 filing it disclosed potential FCPA violations to the Justice Department (see 2103040065), but the agency “decided to close its file on this matter without any action against the Company.” Pactiv said it’s awaiting a potential penalty decision from the SEC and can’t predict whether it will be fined.
President Joe Biden's administration will likely continue a ban on investments in Chinese military companies introduced under his predecessor President Donald Trump (see 2012290017), Bloomberg reported May 6. Although they will likely continue the measures, administration officials are still in “preliminary discussions” and a decision hasn’t yet been made, the report said. One former Trump administration official suggested that Congress codify the investment restrictions. The White House declined to comment.
The Bureau of Industry and Security again extended the comment period on an information collection related to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s bidding process, a notice said. The information collection pertains to the process BIS must undergo to determine whether U.S. firms are eligible to participate in NATO’s bidding process and supply certain goods. BIS previously requested comments in January and extended the comment period in March (see 2103170024). The agency said it will extend the comment period by an additional 30 days. Comments are now due by June 9.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, when asked by a top government relations official at General Motors about the semiconductor shortage, said, "I can assure you that I begin and end each day thinking about this issue." Raimondo said she's spoken with the CEO of every major auto company in recent weeks as she seeks to find a way to ease the supply crunch, which could last into 2022. "We’re working hard to see if we can get the Taiwanese to prioritize the needs of our auto companies because there’s so many jobs on the line," said Raimondo, who was speaking at a virtual conference hosted by the Council of the Americas on May 4.
Turkey recently removed its antidumping duty on U.S. cotton imports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in an April 29 report. The 3% duty, removed last month, was imposed in 2016. USDA said U.S. cotton exporters will see a “slight increase” in market share in Turkey.
The State Department's Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved a $2.42 billion sale to India, the agency said April 30. The sale includes six “P-8I Patrol aircraft” and related equipment. The prime contractor will be Boeing.
The State Department's Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved two military sales to Australia worth nearly $2 billion, the agency said April 29. The first sale includes $1.69 billion worth of “Heavy Armored Combat Systems” and related equipment. The principal contractors will be General Dynamics Land Systems, BAE, Leonardo DRS and Honeywell Aerospace. The second sale includes $259 million worth of “CH-47F Chinook Helicopters” and related equipment. The aircraft will be provided from U.S. Army stock and will “not require the assignment of any additional U.S. or contractor representatives.”
President Joe Biden has made his choices for several senior positions at Treasury, including the agency’s top sanctions and foreign investment officials, Bloomberg reported April 30. Biden will nominate attorney Brian Nelson to be undersecretary of the Terrorism and Financial Intelligence office, which oversees the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and attorney Josh Berman to be assistant secretary overseeing Treasury’s work on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., according to the report.