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.
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, introduced a bill June 12 that would increase the congressional notification threshold for exports of firearms controlled under Category I of the U.S. Munitions List. The legislation would set the threshold at $4 million, up from $1 million, a level set in 1976. The bill was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is still discussing how it wants to craft its replacement to the Biden-era AI diffusion rule, an agency official said, as well as preparing to finalize recent rules that reduced licensing requirements for exports of certain space-related items and proposed to simplify the License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization. The official also said the Trump administration is considering tweaks to export licensing, acknowledging that applications are taking longer than usual.
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., reintroduced a bill June 6 that would give the U.K. the same licensing exemption for unclassified defense exports that Canada currently enjoys under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The Special Relationship Military Improvement Act, which Green previously introduced in the last Congress, was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed June 5 that the Commerce Department is reviewing a Biden administration interim final rule that increased restrictions on firearms exports.
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is preparing to finalize a set of "targeted revisions" to the U.S. Munitions List that it previewed in a January interim final rule (see 2501160027). The changes would exclude entries "that do not warrant inclusion" and add export controls for "critical and emerging technologies that warrant inclusion." DDTC sent the rule for interagency review June 2.
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A grand jury indictment unsealed last week charges two people with trying to pay millions of dollars to ship U.S. export controlled technology and weapons to China, offering in some cases more than double the market rate to buy military jet engines, drones, cryptographic devices and other sensitive technologies.
Although the Trump administration relaxed a range of sanctions against Syria last week, existing export controls still present risks for people and companies carrying out transactions with the country, law firms said this week.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.