The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will hold its semi-annual in-house seminar as a “virtual event” on July 1 due to restrictions implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19, the agency said in a June 4 notice. Attendees can register by emailing DDTCInHouseSeminars@state.gov before June 24.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will hold another Defense Export Control and Compliance System webinar on June 10, DDTC said in a notice this week. The webinar will cover updates to DECCS that took effect since the last webinar (see 2004080022), the State Department’s response to COVID-19, frequently asked questions, best practices and a question-and-answer session. The webinar will take place 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT; login information is provided in the notice.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security corrected the formatting for an April final rule that expanded licensing requirements for certain military-related exports to China, Russia and Venezuela, according to a notice. The corrected format “publishes the full text of each revised Export Control Classification Number on the Commerce Control List,” the notice said. BIS issued the correction because the agency “felt it was easier for compliance purposes,” said Hillary Hess, BIS’s regulatory policy director, speaking during a June 2 Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee meeting. “It does not change the substance of the rule at all.”
The U.S. semiconductor industry is preparing to lobby for billions of dollars in federal funding amid growing U.S. technology competition with China, according to a May 31 report in The Wall Street Journal. The lobbying efforts, outlined in a $37 billion draft proposal by the Semiconductor Industry Association, includes funding for a new U.S. chip factory and increased research subsidies, the report said. The SIA declined to comment.
The State Department approved three potential military sales to Kuwait worth a combined $1.425 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said May 28. The first sale includes $425 million worth of weapons technical assistance and support, and the second sale includes a “Patriot missile Repair and Return program” worth $200 million. The principal contractors for both sales are Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Liedos (formerly SAIC) and KBR. The third sale includes 84 “Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancements” and related equipment for $800 million. The principal contactor for this sale is Lockheed Martin.
The Directorate of Defense Controls’ Defense Export Control and Compliance System (see 2002190025) will be unavailable from 11 p.m. EDT on May 29 through 8 a.m. EDT on June 1 for system maintenance, DDTC said in a May 28 notice. Users should save work in progress before the scheduled downtime, DDTC said.
The State Department approved a potential military sale to Taiwan worth $180 million, according to a May 20 press release from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The sale includes 18 “Advanced Technology Heavy Weight Torpedoes” and other equipment. There are no prime contractors for the sale, which will be procured from U.S. Navy stocks.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has completed an interagency review of an interim final rule that will consolidate certain definitions within the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The review was completed May 20.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security postponed its annual Washington, D.C., export control conference (see 2004300049) to July 26-28, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BIS said May 21. The conference was scheduled to run June 29 through July 1. Washington has stay-at-home orders in place through at least June 8. The agency previously canceled its April Los Angeles conference (see 2003120045) and postponed a series of export control seminars (see 2004140030).
Export licenses are not required to ship defense products to Puerto Rico, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said in a frequently-asked-question released May 19. The DDTC also stressed that licenses are not needed for defense exports to American Samoa, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “No export occurs when a defense article is shipped to Puerto Rico,” DDTC said. “Therefore, no export license or other approval from DDTC is required.”