The State Department approved a possible $130 million military sale to Norway, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Dec. 17. The sale includes a “M1156A1 Precision Guidance Kits Fuzes" and related equipment, and the principal contractor will be Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.

The Pentagon this week removed two Chinese companies from its 1260H List, the list it uses to name firms that it says have ties to China’s military. The agency removed semiconductor company Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment and investment firm IDG Capital Partners Co., it said in a Federal Register notice Dec. 18. It didn’t give a reason for the delistings. Companies on the list face certain U.S. government contract restrictions.

The State Department approved a possible $300 million military sale to South Korea, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Dec. 16. The sale includes a “KDX-II Class Destroyers Product Improvement Program” and related elements of logistics and program support, and the principal contractors will include BAE Systems Integrated Defense Solutions, with others to be determined.

A possible rise in U.S. trade protectionism under the incoming Donald Trump administration could lead to several key “constraints” on the American economy, especially for exporters, said Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

President Joe Biden called for the creation of a new task force to counter foreign economic coercion, which he said will help the U.S. better respond to coercive measures by “countries of concern,” including China.

The State Department approved possible military sales to Kuwait and to Ukraine, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Dec. 10. The Kuwait sale includes $300 million worth of equipment and services to refurbish "existing maintenance facilities," and the principal contractors will be BAE Systems, U.S. Ordnance, DRS Technologies, L3Harris Corp., Northrop Grumman and RTX. Ukraine will buy $266.4 million worth of "sustainment services" and related equipment for F-16s, and the principal contractors will be Sabena, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and Pratt and Whitney.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is seeking public comments on an information collection involving license applications to export or temporarily import export-controlled defense articles or technical data. Companies must use Form DSP-85 to obtain permission to carry out those activities involving items covered by the U.S. Munitions List. Comments on the information collection are due Feb. 10.

The State Department approved a potential $807 million military sale to the Netherlands, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Dec. 6. The sale includes “AIM-120D3 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles” and related equipment, and the principal contractor will be RTX Corp.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said it won’t be enforcing new reporting requirements under its upcoming beneficial ownership information reporting rule in light of a recent federal court order blocking the rule from taking effect. A statement on FinCEN’s website confirmed that companies are “not subject to liability if they fail to” report while the court order is in force, though those companies can voluntarily submit reports if they wish.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on the impact of the Chemical Weapons Convention on commercial activities during 2024. The agency is specifically looking for feedback on how those activities involving Schedule 1 chemicals were affected to determine whether CWC decisions "harmed" the “legitimate commercial activities and interests of chemical, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical firms” this year. Comments are due by Jan. 8.