The U.S. shouldn’t be targeting American companies that exclude foreign applicants for job openings if those policies are meant to protect American sensitive technologies, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said in a letter to DOJ. Vance’s letter came after DOJ in recent enforcement actions targeted both SpaceX and General Motors for using export control laws to justify restrictive hiring practices, highlighting the risks facing companies looking to fill positions that involve export-controlled items, Barnes & Thornburg said in a recent client alert.
The State Department concluded an interagency review for a final rule that would amend certain export restrictions involving Cyprus within the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The agency sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 17, and the review was completed Aug. 30. The agency earlier this month said it plans to again renew a measure that temporarily suspends restrictions on certain defense exports to Cyprus (see 2308210013).
The State Department fined a U.S.-based specialty chemicals supplier $850,000 for allegedly violating defense export regulations and failing to voluntarily disclose those violations, the agency announced in an order and settlement agreement this week. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said Island Pyrochemical Industries Corp. illegally acted as a broker between Brazilian and Chinese companies for shipments of chemicals used in explosives and made false statements on a license application to DDTC.
A pair of U.S. and Israeli 3D printing technology companies said they are submitting disclosures to both the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and the State Department ahead of their planned $500 million combination, Squire Patton said in an Aug. 24 post. Israeli-based Stratasys plans to acquire U.S.-based Desktop Metal, which was described in an August SEC filing as a “pioneering a new generation of additive manufacturing technologies” focused on the “volume production of end-use parts.” The companies said they submitted a “notice filing” to CFIUS in July and plan to submit a “notice filing” to the State Department “pursuant” to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
The State Department will again extend a September 2020 rule that temporarily suspended restrictions on certain defense exports to Cyprus, the agency said last week. The 2020 rule (see 2009020045) 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. The agency has extended the rule each year since (see 2209190009 and 2211210028). The State Department plans to soon publish a Federal Register notice to reflect the renewal, which will apply for FY 2024, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said.
The State Department sent a final rule for interagency review that could loosen export restrictions on certain controlled defense shipments and services for Ethiopia. The rule, sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 17, would remove Ethiopia from the International Traffic in Arms Regulations’ list of proscribed countries. Those countries are generally subject to a license review policy of denial.
The Census Bureau Aug. 10 launched a new response code in the Automated Export System to alert filers who try to submit a shipment controlled under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI without a valid determination number. The response code, 5C2, will serve as an “informational” error message for at least 90 days, then become a “fatal” error, according to an Aug. 10 CBP CSMS message, and AES will reject the filing.
The Census Bureau is moving forward with a new data element in the Automated Export System that shippers must report when exporting items classified under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI. The agency didn’t list any public comments objecting to the change that it proposed in May (see 2305020007), which Census said will help it collect more data on Category XXI exports and defense services that are “not otherwise enumerated” under other USML categories.
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The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls recently posted a name change notice for Nitec (UK) Ltd. and waived the requirement for amendments to change approved license authorizations because of the “volume” of authorizations requiring amendments to reflect the change, DDTC said. Nitec was changed to CBE Plus Ltd. New license applications received after Sept. 3 that identify the old name “will be considered for return without action for correction.”