The State Department published its spring 2020 regulatory agenda. The agenda includes a new mention of a final rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations due to changes made by multilateral export regimes. The rule would update the U.S. Munitions List and “corresponding parts of the ITAR” based on “related treaties” and export regimes, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, that have updated their export controls. The agency is aiming to issue the rule this month.
As part of its revised policy on gun suppressor exports (see 2007130014), the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will not authorize suppressor shipments without an ultimate end-user listed on the license, according to a July 15 alert from Reeves & Dola. The law firm said it reached out to DDTC for clarification about its new policy and was told that suppressor exports licenses must list a specific end-user for the customer. “In other words, license applications that state ‘for commercial resale in NAMED COUNTRY’ as an end-use/end-user will not be acceptable for suppressors,” the alert said.
President Donald Trump’s executive order ending preferential treatment for Hong Kong details a range of sanctions authorities and export bans but includes a carve-out for certain defense exports authorized before the order was issued. The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued a July 15 guidance to clarify the new restrictions and answer industry questions.
The Commerce Department published its spring 2020 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security. The agenda includes a new mention of a rule to control “software” for the operation of “automated nucleic acid assemblers and synthesizers” capable of designing and building “functional genetic elements from digital sequence data.” BIS said the software can be used in the production of pathogens and toxins, with the potential for those to make their way into biological weapons if export controls on the software are lacking. The notice of proposed rulemaking, part of BIS’ effort to control emerging and foundational technologies (see 2005190052), will request industry comments about how the controls might affect “legitimate commercial or scientific applications.” BIS said it aims to issue the proposed rule this month.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls rescinded its policy for exports of firearms sound suppressors and will instead handle those shipments “in a manner consistent” with other U.S. Munitions List controlled technologies, DDTC said July 10. DDTC’s policy previously called for “enhanced guidelines” for approving export licenses for suppressors and restricted exports to “only official end users such as government or military entities,” the agency said.
The State Department is extending the comment deadline on an information collection related to notifications submitted to the agency for changes in company registration. The information collection applies to companies registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls that undergo a change in registration information, or if the company is involved in a merger, acquisition or divestiture of an entity producing items controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Comments, which were due by June 1 (see 2003310022), now will be accepted through July 30.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. is closely monitoring Chinese investors who are trying to take advantage of struggling U.S. companies, trade lawyers said. CFIUS is also focusing on the semiconductor sector, where Chinese entities are hoping to evade recent U.S. rules that impose more strict license restrictions on sales of semiconductors and other technology to China and Huawei (see 2005150058), the lawyers said.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls expects to increase its end-user checks on sensitive defense exports after the transfer of gun export controls from the State Department to the Commerce Department was finalized earlier this year, the agency said. The transfer -- which placed Commerce in charge of export controls for firearms, ammunition and other defense items -- will free up DDTC to conduct more thorough post-shipment checks as part of its Blue Lantern process, the agency’s end-use monitoring program.
The State Department may introduce more measures to help industry mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including more license extensions or fee reductions, an agency official said. The agency is considering more measures after lowering certain fees and extending licensing deadlines in April (see 2004240017), which was received positively by companies, said Mike Miller, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for defense trade.
The State Department is seeking comments on recent measures that allowed for temporary suspensions and exceptions to provisions in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (see 2004240017), it said in a notice. The agency seeks feedback on the “efficacy” and impact of the measures on industry and whether it should extend the measures' expiration dates. The agency is also accepting comments on additional ITAR measures it can take to mitigate burdens caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A State Department official recently said the agency is considering extending some measures, including allowing employees involved in ITAR-related activities to work remotely (see 2005080038). Comments are due June 25.