The State Department this week published in the Federal Register a series of previously issued notices authorizing the drawdown of defense articles and services for Ukraine. The notices are for a $100 million drawdown from May 19, a $700 million drawdown from June 1, a $350 million drawdown from June 15, a $50 million drawdown from July 1, a $400 million drawdown from July 8, a $175 million drawdown from July 22 and a $1 billion drawdown from Aug. 8.
The State Department on Aug. 17 completed an interagency review for a final rule that will reorganize and consolidate definitions in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 8 (see 2208090017), is part of a broader agency effort to reorganize the ITAR (see 2203220013 and 2205160026). The State Department also recently completed an interagency review for a final rule to make corrections and clarifications to the ITAR (see 2208120010).
The Bureau of Industry and Security extended a comment period on an information collection involving evaluations of its export compliance training seminars. BIS said it usually conducts more than 30 export compliance seminars per year, and said feedback on the seminars is “vital to ensuring the quality and relevance of outreach programs.” BIS previously requested public input in June, and now will allow another 30 days for submission of comments.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America sent a letter to the Federal Maritime Commission last week requesting guidance on Ocean Shipping Reform Act regulations. In an Aug. 15 email to members, NCBFAA said it asked the FMC for more “clarity” on OSRA provisions that restrict common carriers from invoicing parties for detention and demurrage unless the invoice includes certain required information. The group also asked the commission about the fee dispute process; made “inquiries with respect to the treatment of ocean carrier vendors, such as railroads and chassis pools”; and asked about new, prohibited conduct for common carriers. NCBFAA asked FMC to explain “to what extent do these new prohibitions and requirements, especially for invoicing, apply to marine terminal operators, customs brokers, freight forwarders, breakbulk agents, and other entities assessing and invoicing” fees.
The Commerce Department is seeking comments on the state of the global artificial intelligence market, including measures that may be impacting U.S. exports of AI technologies. The comments, due Oct. 17, will give the agency a “stronger understanding of the AI landscape” as AI “makes its way into global trade discussions,” Commerce said, and could help the U.S. open new markets for American AI technologies. Commerce said it’s specifically seeking feedback from industry, researchers, academia and civil society on “potential opportunities for and challenges to increasing U.S. export competitiveness for AI-enabled technologies,” including what foreign regulations or trade barriers may be hurting U.S. exporters, what new U.S. trade policies could help exporters and how U.S. AI competitiveness compares with other countries.
The State Department Aug. 11 completed an interagency review for a final rule that would make certain corrections and clarifications to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, which was sent for interagency review in July, was mentioned in the agency’s spring regulatory agenda (see 2207050015).
The Federal Maritime Commission announced a new landing page on its website dedicated to the commission’s activities related to the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. The page will provide links to OSRA-related rulemakings, industry advisories and news. “Establishing a resource where the public can easily and quickly see all relevant materials related to OSRA implementation is critical to keeping all interested constituencies informed of progress the Commission is making in meeting the mandates established by the Congress and the President,” FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said.
The Port of New York and New Jersey this month announced plans for a new quarterly container fee to encourage the “timely removal” of empty containers. The fee, which can be imposed on ocean carriers beginning Sept. 1, will target “excess empty containers being stored in the port for long periods,” the port said. “The fee will reduce the number of excess empty containers dwelling at the port and free up much-needed capacity for containers that are full of imports and ready to be picked up by cargo owners.”
The State Department approved a potential military sale to Brazil, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Aug. 9. The sale includes about $74 million worth of Javelin missiles and related equipment. The prime contractors will be Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls released its notifications to Congress of recently proposed export licenses. The April through June notices feature arms sales to numerous countries, including Saudi Arabia, the U.K., Australia, Thailand and Norway.