The State Department last year limited its new open general license pilot program to defense reexports and retransfers because of a database issue with CBP, and may eventually look to expand the authorization to include regular exports, said Dilan Wickrema, an official with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. “Frankly, the reason why we haven't been able to include exports into an OGL yet is because we would have to amend CBPs database to allow and accept some kind of code indicating that an OGL was used,” Wickrema said.
Although the State Department is working to better streamline its export licensing process, the agency is facing increasingly complicated licensing decisions and a large volume of applications, said Sarah Heidema, policy director for the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. She said DDTC has “thousands of licenses pending adjudication” at “any given time,” and some require extensive analysis.
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.
The State Department Jan. 10 completed an interagency review of a final rule to further reorganize the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, first sent for review in November, would reorganize ITAR part 120 to consolidate all definitions into one part and “organize the definitions in a manner that enhances their clarity and ease of use,” the agency said. The agency's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in March issued the first in a series of rules expected to reorganize the ITAR (see 2203220013).
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week updated its redline document to reflect a recent revision to its maximum monetary penalty amounts. The document uses colors to highlight text that has been deleted, moved and revised in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
The State, Commerce and Defense departments are planning virtual seminars on U.S. export controls for the government, industry and academic communities in Australia, Canada and the U.K. The seminars, which will be open to the public, will cover “topics related” to the Export Administration Regulations, International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Foreign Military Sales program, and will be “specifically tailored” to industry and government officials located in the three U.S. trading partners. Because of time zone differences, the seminar for Canada and the U.K. will be held Jan. 23-26, and the Australia seminar, Feb. 6-8 (Feb. 7-9, Canberra time). Registration requests should be sent to DDTCRSVP@state.gov.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a 180-day temporary denial order Dec. 13 against three people and two companies for illegally sending controlled exports to Russia as part of a Moscow-led sanctions evasion scheme. Along with the denial order, DOJ indicted the three individuals, along with others, on charges related to the illegal exports, including money laundering, wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiring to defraud the U.S.
Export Compliance Daily is providing this recap of export control and sanctions enforcement over the past year to assist export compliance professionals, lawyers and others in staying up to date with current enforcement trends. This guide summarizes the most notable enforcement actions by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Department of Justice since Jan. 1, 2022.
The State Department is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation, the agency said in a notice released Jan. 10. The new amounts, which include revised maximum penalties for violations of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Arms Export Control Act, will apply only to penalties assessed on or after Jan. 11, the agency said. For penalties adjusted “according to recent legislation,” the new amounts will apply only to penalties “assessed for violations occurring on or after December 27, 2022.”
The State Department published its fall 2022 regulatory agenda, including planned publication dates for rules to amend the U.S. Munitions List, revise defense trade regulations surrounding the definition of a “regular employee” and expand the types of defense articles and services that can be exported to certain close U.S. allies.