The Bureau of Industry and Security will ease export controls on Syria Sept. 2 by creating a new license exception for the country, making it eligible for a broader set of existing exceptions and revising current BIS license review policies for Syria to “be more favorable.”
The State Department is finalizing changes from a January rule that will add and remove items on the U.S. Munitions List and clarify the control scope of others. It said some new items should be subject to export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, while others “no longer warrant inclusion” or will soon be moved to the Commerce Department’s Commerce Control List. The agency will also create a new license exemption for underwater drones and tweak other portions of the January rule, but it declined to make multiple changes requested by exporters.
California-based electronic design automation firm Cadence will pay more than $140 million in combined civil fines, criminal penalties and forfeitures after the U.S. said it violated export controls against China. The company pleaded guilty to illegally exporting EDA hardware, software and semiconductor design intellectual property technology to Chinese entities, including a university and company on the Entity List.
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The Bureau of Industry and Security recently updated its website to allow users to search through the Commerce Control List’s Export Control Classification Numbers by keywords. Users can search keywords across all ECCNs or within just one CCL category.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is progressing on a final rule that would relax certain export controls on Syria. BIS sent the rule for interagency review June 8, about a month after an agency official confirmed that BIS planned to lift some controls over the country (see 2506100052). President Donald Trump on June 30 authorized the "relaxation" of Syria-related export controls, specifically with respect to items on the Commerce Control List (see 2506300055).
The U.S. should take several steps to reduce red tape and streamline arms sales and technology transfers to close trading partners, including more frequently reviewing the jurisdiction of export-controlled items and combining reviews of weapons requests from allies, researchers said in a new report.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week rescinded China-related export restrictions on multiple electronic design automation companies and a gas and oil pipeline company, a move that came less than a month after Washington and Beijing reached an agreement to rein in their respective export curbs.
President Donald Trump on June 30 signed an executive order to remove certain financial sanctions against Syria and authorize the "relaxation" of export controls against the country, part of broader effort to support Syria's "path to stability and peace," the White House said.
The State Department this week announced new export restrictions against Sudan after determining earlier this year that the Sudanese government used chemical weapons in 2024 and isn't in compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (see 2505230007). The agency’s notice, effective June 27, establishes new prohibitions but also waives some of the new export restrictions for Sudan under certain scenarios. The measures will be in place for at least one year “and until further notice.”