The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said its Response Team and Help Desk will be closed Jan. 9 along with the rest of the federal government in observance of the national day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter. They will reopen at 8 a.m. on Jan. 10, DDTC said. “Due to the closure and depending on volume of inquires received, responses to support requests and processing of classified provisos for delivery may be delayed,” it said.

The State Department approved a possible $78.5 million military sale to Saudi Arabia, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said last week. The sale includes "MK 54 MOD 0 Lightweight Torpedoes and related elements of logistics and program support"; the principal contractor will be RTX Integrated Defense Systems.

The Pentagon this week posted its annual list of companies that it says have ties to China’s military. The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requires the agency to publish the full 1260H List each year until Dec. 31, 2030. Companies on the list face certain U.S. government contract restrictions.

The State Department approved a possible $3.64 billion military sale to Japan, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said last week. The sale includes "AIM-120D-3 and AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles" and related equipment; the principal contractor will be RTX Corp.

Indonesia soon will impose a new 12% luxury goods sales tax on imported products intended for “high-end Indonesian consumers,” including certain premium beef, pork, fruit, seafood and specialty rice, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said Jan. 2. USDA said those products historically haven’t been subject to any value-added taxes, adding that the new measure is expected to have a “significant impact on [the] above-mentioned U.S. agricultural exports to Indonesia.”

The U.S. government stressed that it plans to continue an ongoing legal battle to enforce the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements in the Corporate Transparency Act, which a federal court paused last month under a nationwide injunction (see 2412270046 and 2412300031)

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service released a summary and translation of China’s recent notice announcing a safeguard investigation on imported beef, including from the U.S. (see 2412300027). The agency said China imported $14.2 billion worth of those beef products in 2023 from the U.S. and other countries, with the U.S. accounting for $1.5 billion worth of those shipments. “While the investigation does not specifically target exported beef from the United States, an affirmative determination would likely result in additional duties on global beef imports, including those from the United States,” USDA said.

The State Department on Dec. 30 announced another round of what it called "significant" new military assistance for Ukraine, providing counter-unmanned aerial systems equipment and munitions, air defense munitions, various ammunition, missiles and other "urgently needed weapons and equipment" to Ukraine for its war against Russia. The $1.25 billion weapons package will be provided under previous drawdowns from Department of Defense stocks. "The United States and more than 50 nations stand united to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russia’s aggression," the State Department said.

Companies subject to the Treasury Department’s paused beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements are in a “state of bewilderment” after the Corporate Transparency Act rules were temporarily reinstated earlier this month only for them to be quickly placed back under a nationwide injunction last week (see 2412270046), Holland & Knight said in a Dec. 27 client alert. For now, the law firm said there “appears to be a set path forward and a reprieve from imminent compliance obligations” under the rules, which would have required most companies to submit BOI reports to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in January as part of a government initiative to prevent sanctioned parties and others from hiding assets in the U.S.

The Bureau of Industry and Security this week published the third quarterly update of its boycott requester list, a list of entities that have asked other companies to boycott goods from certain countries in violation of the Export Administration Regulations.