The Trump administration completed its review of its final rule to move export controls of firearms from the State Department to the Commerce Department, clearing the way for the regulatory changes to potentially be completed this year.
The Commerce Department plans to release proposed export controls on emerging technologies within the “next few weeks” and an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on foundational technologies before the end of the year, a top Commerce official said. Matt Borman, the Commerce deputy assistant secretary for export administration, suggested Commerce has been eager to release both controls to ease concerns from U.S. trade groups and companies, which have warned the agency against overly broad, unilateral controls.
Jaguar Imports of Orlando, Florida, will pay a $98,000 civil penalty to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security as part a settlement with the agency over unlicensed exports to Colombia, Mexico and Canada, BIS said in an Oct. 9 notice. The company is said to have illegally exported pepper spray, stun guns, handcuffs and police batons to the countries between 2015 and 2017, BIS said. The items were classified on the Commerce Control List and valued at about $35,355, the agency said. As part of the settlements Jaguar Imports "shall not take any action or make or permit to be made any public statement, directly or indirectly, denying the allegations." If the company fails to comply with the agreement, Jaguar Imports may see its export privileges denied, the agency said. The BIS order is effective Oct. 9, it said.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept. 30 - Oct. 4 in case they were missed.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security added 28 entities to its Entity List for their involvement in human rights violations of China’s Uighur population, BIS said Oct. 7. The entities include Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region People’s Government Public Security Bureau, 18 of its subsidiaries and eight China-based technology and science companies, including Hikvision, a major supplier of video surveillance products. The announcement takes effect Oct. 9.
The Department of Commerce denied a man export privileges after he was convicted of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Commerce said in a Sept. 30 notice. Kenneth S. Chait illegally exported “ceramic metal triggered spark gaps, also known as nuclear triggered spark gaps,” listed on the Commerce Control List. Chait was convicted November 13, 2018, and sentenced to one year and one day in prison, two years of supervised release and a $100 fine, the notice said. Commerce revoked Chait’s export privileges for five years from his date of conviction.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security issued a guidance for exports, re-exports and transfers to Pakistan, covering license requirements for items subject to the Export Administration Regulations and best practices for screening Pakistani customers.
One of the top concerns of the U.S. firearms industry is the delay in transitioning export controls of firearms and ammunition from the State Department to the Commerce Department, said Larry Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. As the wait for Export Control Reform has increased -- beginning in 2009 under the Obama administration and continuing under the Trump administration -- the U.S. firearms industry increasingly feels as if it has been left behind, Keane said.
Commerce plans to eliminate license exceptions for civil end-users from the Export Administration Regulations, according to an alert from Akin Gump. Commerce did not say when the changes would take effect, the alert said, but U.S. companies should “prepare for the possibility that currently exempted activities may soon require specific licenses” from the Bureau of Industry and Security. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs recently completed a review of the changes, according to a notice on the OIRA website.
As the Trump administration pushes for export controls on certain firearms to be transferred from the State Department to the Commerce Department, top Commerce officials said the move should not be a cause for concern and said they are welcoming feedback from the public and members of Congress.