The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued a series of frequently asked questions on Jan. 6 as part of guidance related to U.S. people exporting defense services abroad. The guidance clarifies questions related to registration and authorization requirements and details the process for obtaining authorization.
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC)
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is the agency tasked with administering export controls over defense articles, defense services and brokering activities under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. It maintains the U.S. Munitions List (USML), which details the defense articles and services subject to the ITAR.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls’ interim final rule (see 1912230052) to define activities that are not exports, re-exports or retransfers will significantly reduce regulatory and compliance burdens surrounding encrypted data, a law firm and export consulting firm said. In a long-awaited move, the rule will better facilitate international data storage subject to both the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export Administration Regulations.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on Oct. 31 released two forms for public comment relating to disclosures of violations of the Arms Export Control Act. The first document is the disclosure form issued by the State Department, and the second document is instructions for completing the form. The agency asked for public comments on Oct. 28, and comments are due Nov. 27 (see 1910280029).
The State Department is seeking comments on an information collection related to disclosures of the Arms Export Control Act, according to an Oct. 28 notice. In a summary of the information collection, the State Department said it has developed a “discrete form” for submitting voluntary disclosures “as part of an IT modernization project designed to streamline the collection and use of information by” the Directorate of Defense Trade controls. The form will allow DDTC and submitters “to more easily track submissions,” the notice said. Comments are due Nov. 27.
L3 Harris Technologies reached a $13 million settlement with the State Department for violating the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, according to an order released Sept. 23 by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. The violations by Harris Corporation, a technology and defense contractor, occurred before it officially merged in July with L3 Technologies, an aerospace and defense company.
Plans to reorganize International Traffic in Arms Regulations are ongoing despite what has been a lengthy legal review of the draft rules, a Directorate of Defense Trade Controls official said while speaking July 9 at the Bureau of Industry and Security annual export controls conference. Through a "series of rules we are trying to make the content of the ITAR more linear and more discernable," said Rob Hart, regulatory and multilateral affairs division chief in the Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls' Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS) Commodity Jurisdiction application is live, the State Department said in a May 6 notice. The new system allows users to save commodity jurisdiction applications as drafts and return to them later. Users can also now download a PDF version of the submitted form for record keeping, State said. Commodity jurisdiction determinations allow users to determine whether a product or service is covered by the U.S. Munitions List and subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations export controls, State said. All “DTrade Super Users with valid email addresses” were automatically enrolled in DECCS, the notice said.
The State Department seeks comments by May 7 on a proposed change to its procedures for submitting voluntary disclosures of violations of the Arms Export Control Act. “Historically, respondents to this information collection submitted their disclosures to [the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC)] in writing via hard copy documentation. However, as part of an IT modernization project designed to streamline the collection and use of information by DDTC, a discrete form has been developed for the submission of voluntary disclosures. This will allow both DDTC and respondents submitting a disclosure to more easily track submissions,” it said. As it sends the new information collection procedure to OMB for approval, State seeks comments on whether the information collection is necessary, how it can be improved, and how the burden on industry can be reduced.