The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked the export privileges of a Chilton, Wisconsin, man after he was convicted Dec. 13, 2019, of violating the Arms Export Control Act, the agency said in a September order. Andy Lloyd Huebschmann was convicted of illegally exporting defense articles to Australia, BIS said, including a “Model GA 9mm lower receiver, upper receiver, barrel, trigger control group, bolt carrier, and pistol grip,” all controlled under the U.S. Munitions List. BIS said Huebschmann didn’t have the required State Department export license to ship the items. He was sentenced to two years in prison, one year of supervised release, a $15,000 criminal fine and a $100 “assessment.” BIS revoked Huebschmann’s export privileges for 10 years from the date of conviction.
The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for seven people for illegally exporting firearms and other defense goods without licenses, according to enforcement orders released this week.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will update its website Sept. 7, 6-6:30 a.m. EDT, potentially causing disruptions, DDTC said. The agency said users should refresh their browser if they experience technical issues during that time. The update won’t affect users working in Defense Export Control and Compliance System applications.
Maryland residents Wilson Nuyila Tita of Owings Mills, Eric Fru Nji of Fort Washington and Wilson Che Fonguh of Bowie were charged Aug. 27 in a federal indictment at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland with conspiracty to violate the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Reform Control Act, the Department of Justice said. The three allegedly shipped firearms and ammunition from the U.S. to Nigeria, violating export restrictions.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Aug. 23-27 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will hold a webinar Sept. 16 on submitting registration renewals and amendments in the Defense Export Control and Compliance System. The session will include a question-and-answer period and other tips and tricks for using DECCS. The Aug. 26 notice includes login information for the webinar.
The State Department will extend a “temporary modification” to the U.S. Munitions List that is intended to provide clarity to U.S. exporters about certain language in the USML, the agency said in a final rule released Aug. 26. The modification, which was scheduled to expire Aug. 30 but will now remain through Aug. 30, 2026, revised USML Category XI to clarify that “certain intelligence-analytics software” is controlled under the USML. Although the State Department said it “continues to develop a long-term solution” to address the language, that solution “will not be in place when the current temporary modification expires.” Extending the expiration date for five years is in the “best interest” of the U.S. defense industry so that the language can be revised as part of a “wholesale revision” of USML Category XI, the agency said.
The State Department this week sent a final rule for interagency review that would amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to create definitions for activities that are not exports, reexports or retransfers. The rule would create definitions for a range of activities, including launching items into space, providing technical data to U.S. people within the U.S. or within a single country abroad, and moving defense articles between states, possessions and U.S. territories.
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls recent settlement with Keysight Technologies shows the agency is growing more aggressive with certain compliance requirements and violations involving software and technical data, Miller & Chevalier said Aug. 18. At the same time, DDTC continues to reward cooperation and other mitigating factors with significant penalty reductions as it tries to incentivize companies to voluntarily disclose violations and work with the agency during its investigation.
The Bureau of Industry and Security released a final rule to make technical corrections and clarifications (see 2108110010) to a 2020 rule that transferred export control jurisdiction over certain firearms from the State Department to the Commerce Department. The rule, released Aug. 18 and effective Sept. 20, introduced changes to make the requirements “easier to understand” and “interpreted consistently,” BIS said.