The State Department Aug. 8 sent a final rule for interagency review that will reorganize and consolidate definitions in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, part of a broader agency effort to reorganize the ITAR (see 2203220013 and 2205160026), will consolidate the definitions into “one part” and “organize the definitions in a manner that enhances their clarity and ease of use,” the State Department said.

The State Department announced debarments against 10 people convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act. The debarments, which will be imposed starting Aug. 10, target Akeem Shonari Awer, Oben Cabalceta (see 1904230063), Rrok Martin Camaj, Claudia Guerra, Aydan Sin (see 2110060009), Roger Sobrado (see 1909060028), Shaohua Wang and Ye Sang Wang 2112220020), Tuqiang Xie (see 2203310030) and Jian Zhang. All 10 are “generally ineligible” to participate in activity controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations for three years following their dates of convictions. At the end of that period, they must apply to be reinstated from their debarment before engaging in ITAR activities.

The State Department on Aug. 3 sent a proposed rule for interagency review that would expand the definition of activities that are not exports, reexports, retransfers or temporary imports. The rule will propose to add “two additional activities” to the definition in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the agency said. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in 2019 issued an interim final rule that provided definitions for those activities (see 1912230052) and later published guidance (see 2002210019).

A federal government payment website, Pay.gov, will conduct a “routine update” 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT Aug. 6 and may be unavailable to users during that time, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said. DDTC said the outage will affect users paying registration fees during that window. Questions or concerns should be directed to Pay.gov customer support at (800) 624-1373 or pay.gov.clev@clev.frb.org.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week issued 18 frequently asked questions to provide guidance on its new open general license pilot program (see 2207190008 and 2207200005). The FAQs clarify the parameters of the two open general licenses, describe what kinds of transactions and activities they cover, detail who can use the licenses and more. In one FAQ, DDTC said it may issue more open general licenses “depending on its experience with, and observations made during, the pilot program.”

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls changed how certain submitted forms are displayed in the Defense Export Control and Compliance System, the agency said in a notice this week. DDTC said submitted forms in the Registration, Commodity Jurisdiction and Advisory Opinion applications will be displayed as PDFs “as opposed to a webform view,” which will allow DDTC to “store the request exactly as it was submitted, and the form will remain unaffected by any future policy changes or system updates.” Questions should be directed to the DDTC Help Desk.

The State Department sent a final rule for interagency review July 25 that will make certain corrections and clarifications to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule was mentioned in the agency’s spring regulatory agenda (see 2207050015).

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The Bureau of Industry and Security recently revoked export privileges for two people after they illegally exported controlled items from the U.S.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls posted its two new open general licenses on its website and issued a fact sheet to describe the new pilot program (see 2207190008). Open General License No. 1 and Open General License No. 2 will be valid for one year -- Aug. 1 through July 31, 2023 -- as DDTC tests the “viability and appropriateness of the open general license concept.”