LONDON -- The U.K. is having “deep” conversations with the U.S. about aligning the two countries’ defense export regulations in an effort to slash technology sharing restrictions as part of the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) agreement, said Rosemary Pratt, director of the U.K.’s Export Control Joint Unit. Pratt said she believes the U.K. eventually will update its controls enough to benefit from a new potential defense-related license exemption being considered by Congress.
Licensing work at sanctions and export control agencies likely will grind to a near halt in the event of a federal government shutdown Oct. 1, though enforcement activities at the Bureau of Industry and Security, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and Office of Foreign Assets Control will continue -- if previous shutdowns are any guide.
DOJ's lawsuit against SpaceX looking into whether the space exploration firm wrongly relied on export control laws to justify its alleged hiring discrimination is unconstitutional, the company said in a Sept. 15 complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The company also defended its hiring practices in its complaint, telling the court that it risks “severe consequences” for violating the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
The Census Bureau is seeking public comments on an information collection involving the Automated Export System, the agency said in a notice released this week. Census said it’s requesting “continued clearance” of AES as a result of a new conditional data element, effective Nov. 8, that shippers will need to report when exporting items classified under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI (see 2308090018). The agency requested feedback on a previous version of the information collection last November and said it’s allowing for “an additional 30 days for public comments.”
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls last week issued two new risk compliance matrices, one for businesses and one for universities, to help them comply with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The matrices, which have been under work at DDTC since at least November (see 2211100023), are meant to guide exporters, manufacturers, researchers, academics and others through an assessment of their ITAR export control risks. DDTC said that after using the documents to conduct an ITAR risk assessment, organizations and researchers should “use that data to create an effective and tailored ITAR compliance program and allocate resources as appropriate to prioritize and mitigate those risks.”
The State Department published a final rule in the Federal Register this week to officially extend relaxed export restrictions for certain defense goods and services involving Cyprus. The agency announced last month that it planned to renew the measures (see 2308210013), which were first introduced in a September 2020 rule that amended the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to relax restrictions surrounding exports of nonlethal defense goods and services to Cyprus, and also eased restrictions on reexports, retransfers and temporary imports (see 2009020045). The agency has extended the rule each year since (see 2209190009 and 2211210028). The latest renewal, effective Oct. 1, expires Sept. 30, 2024.
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The U.S. Census Bureau clarified who the ultimate consignee would be for certain scenarios, in a blog post on Sept. 7. The blog post includes a few scenarios wherein the Foreign Principal Party in Interest (FPPI) or foreign buyer is listed as the ultimate consignee, and two of those wherein "reseller/distributor" is listed as the Ultimate Consignee Type if they are reselling or distributing the goods.
A Torres Trade Law guide to maintaining registrations with the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is available on legal intelligence site JD Supra. It outlines how companies involved with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations should be updating their DDTC registrations when certain changes occur within the registered company, such as a change of control, a merger or a change in leadership. Even if no changes have occurred within the company, the law firm noted, ITAR registrations must be renewed annually.
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.