The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has restored limited access to its Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS) amid the government shutdown. While DECCS users still cannot make new submissions or updates, they can view their completed submissions in read-only mode.
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 clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Processing of most export license applications, as well as sanctions licenses, will pause during the government shutdown that began Oct. 1, although export enforcement operations and national security-related investigations will continue, the Commerce, State and Treasury departments said this week.
The Trump administration’s easing of export restrictions for certain unmanned drones was an overdue decision that could allow American companies to better compete in foreign markets and boost U.S. cooperation with allies, a defense policy researcher and former Pentagon official said Wednesday. During a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar, they said the announcement highlights the shortcomings of the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), arguing that it and other U.S. arms control policies have failed to keep up with the pace of technology.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a State Department reauthorization bill Sept. 18 that would consolidate the State Department’s sanctions activities into a new Sanctions Policy Bureau led by an assistant secretary for sanctions policy (see 2509110039).
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.
Recent updates to the U.S. Munitions List (see 2508260011) may be causing error messages for licenses submitted in the State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System, State said this week.
The State Department has been approving the vast majority of export license applications involving South Korea, a senior agency official said this week, stressing that the government doesn’t want to be an impediment to defense trade with the close U.S. ally.
A new State Department export license exemption for underwater drones provides “new flexibility” for companies using those drones for certain commercial and scientific operations, but companies still need to set “careful compliance guardrails” to make sure they’re using the exemption correctly, K&L Gates said in a client alert.
The State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System will undergo maintenance from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET Sept. 15. "Industry users may experience service degradation, interruptions, or limited application functionality within DECCS during this maintenance window," the agency said. "If you experience any issues, please log back in after the maintenance window."