The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls’ Defense Export Control and Compliance System will be unavailable 6-8 a.m. EDT Aug. 10 for maintenance, DDTC said. In addition, DDTC’s advisory opinion, commodity jurisdiction and user management applications will be unavailable 11 p.m. EDT Aug. 7 to 1 a.m. EDT Aug. 8. DDTC is encouraging users to make sure their work in progress is saved before the scheduled maintenance.

A Florida man was sentenced to 33 months in prison after illegally exporting more than 1,600 firearms parts, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said Aug. 5. From 2011 to 2018, Vladimir Volgaev shipped barrels, slides, receivers and frames from the U.S. to Ukraine, violating the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, ICE said. The gun parts were later used to build firearms, including handguns and rifles, the agency said. Along with the prison sentence, Volgaev was ordered to forfeit $6,835 from the sales of the parts.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 27-31 in case you missed them.

A national law firm and a Washington, D.C., legal staffing company will pay $56,500 after the Justice Department said they misinterpreted citizenship requirements in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The firm, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, and the staffing company, Law Resources Inc., excluded dual citizens and “work-authorized non-U.S. citizens” when hiring temporary employees, screening them out in the recruiting process, the Justice Department said July 23. The firm and company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act's anti-discrimination provision.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 20-24 in case you missed them.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is considering permanently revising the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to allow industry employees involved in ITAR-related activities to work remotely, DDTC said in a notice released July 28. DDTC also said that in response to industry requests it will extend temporary telework measures, which had been set to expire July 31, through Dec. 31 (see 2007230033). The agency said it will use that time to “fully investigate the possibility and ramifications of making this modification, or a variation thereof, a permanent revision,” and may seek comments on the change.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is seeking comments on an information collection related to advisory opinion requests, a notice released July 27 said. The revision of the collection is meant to “conform the current [Office of Management and Budget]-approved data collection to DDTC’s new case management system,” the notice said. Comments are due Aug. 27.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on July 23 extended a measure to “allow continued telework operations” during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure, first announced in April (see 2004240017), suspended an International Traffic in Arms Regulations requirement to allow employees involved in ITAR-related activities to work remotely. The measure, which was to expire July 31, will be extended to Dec. 31, the agency said.

The Senate on July 23 passed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes an amendment that would increase oversight of exports of gun silencers. The amendment, proposed July 20 by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., would require Congress to review and certify all proposed export licenses for silencers, mufflers and firearms sound suppressors before the sale can be completed under the license. The requirement would apply to exports to any “foreign nongovernmental person, group, or organization … regardless of the dollar value.” The amendment would also require the secretary of state to determine that the export does not pose a risk of being retransferred to terrorist groups or criminal organizations. The State Department recently relaxed its policy for exports of gun suppressors to handle those shipments similarly to other U.S. Munitions List controlled technologies (see 2007130014).

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls saw a “significant uptick” in license requests from foreign companies after the agency issued guidance on U.S. people exporting defense services abroad, DDTC Director of Licensing Catherine Hamilton said. The agency also saw an increase in voluntary disclosures as foreign companies realized they may have violated regulations, Hamilton said.