The State Department approved a possible $264.6 million military sale to Canada, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Aug. 16. The sale includes “AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II+ and Block II Tactical Missiles and related elements of logistics and program support." The principal contractor will be RTX Corp.

Senior officials from the Treasury Department, the People’s Bank of China and others convened in Shanghai last week for the fifth meeting of the U.S.-China Financial Working Group, where they discussed beneficial ownership information, anti-money laundering efforts -- including updates on potential revisions of China’s AML law -- "and other topics," Treasury said Aug. 19. Biden administration officials "also raised areas of disagreement during the conversations," Treasury said. The meeting also included a roundtable with private Chinese and U.S. firms " to exchange views on a range of topics related to climate financing, including transition planning and carbon markets."

The State Department recently approved three potential military sales, to Germany, Italy and Denmark, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced last week.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls last week released its notifications to Congress of recently proposed export licenses. The notifications cover licenses submitted from October to December and January through March, and include exports to Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, Israel, Canada, the U.K., Ukraine, Norway, Germany, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.

The State Department approved more than $20 billion worth of possible military sales to Israel this week, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced. The sales include:

The Defense Department will remove Hesai Technology, the largest Chinese lidar company by sales, from its list of Chinese companies that it said have ties to that country’s military (see 2402010018 and 2402090014), the Financial Times reported Aug. 13. The Pentagon made the decision to remove Hesai from the 1260H List after government lawyers expressed concerns about whether the listing would hold up in court, the report said. Hesai sued the agency over the listing in May. A Pentagon spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The State Department approved a possible $580 million military sale to Norway, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Aug. 9. The sale includes “M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems” and related equipment, and the principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin.

A direct final rule released by the Federal Maritime Commission this week will set requirements for how and when the official FMC seal can be used. It’s also meant to prevent “any outside person or organization” from using the seal without commission approval, the FMC said, adding that there have “been recent occurrences of use of the seal by outside parties that FMC believes is misuse of the seal. Having a codified policy will help to ensure that the seal is used for lawful purposes only.” Violators could face administrative action or criminal penalties, the commission said. The rule takes effect Oct. 15 unless the FMC receives a “significant adverse comment” on the new requirements by Sept. 12.

An upcoming supply chain summit hosted by the Commerce Department and the Council on Foreign Relations will bring together industry and government leaders to discuss ways to improve supply chain resilience.

The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is seeking public comments on an information collection related to Bank Secrecy Act regulations. The information collection involves requirements for banks to file FinCEN Form 110, Designation of Exempt Person, which designates certain customers as “exempt” from BSA filing requirements for transactions above $10,000. Comments are due Oct. 7.