The U.S. has removed its arms embargo on Cambodia because of the country's "diligent pursuit of peace and security," the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls announced Oct. 27.

Most respondents to an Aerospace Industry Association survey on the AUKUS defense trade exemption said they view the change positively, although they believe the scope of the exemption may need to be expanded and the State Department’s Excluded Technology List should be revised. They also said the U.S., Australia and the U.K. should publish clearer guidance on the authorized user enrollment process to address “inconsistencies across the three jurisdictions.”

A new draft report issued this month from the nonprofit Law Reform Institute examines how frontier AI systems may soon be able to create instructions, designs and code subject to U.S. export controls and whether the U.S. will need to restrict this through new controls on AI developers.

Exporters shouldn’t assume that the AUKUS initiative between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. will continue in its current form, even though the Trump administration has made mostly positive comments about the agreement, said Charles Edel, the Australia chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has restored limited access to its Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS) amid the government shutdown. While DECCS users still cannot make new submissions or updates, they can view their completed submissions in read-only mode.

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 clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Processing of most export license applications, as well as sanctions licenses, will pause during the government shutdown that began Oct. 1, although export enforcement operations and national security-related investigations will continue, the Commerce, State and Treasury departments said this week.

The Trump administration’s easing of export restrictions for certain unmanned drones was an overdue decision that could allow American companies to better compete in foreign markets and boost U.S. cooperation with allies, a defense policy researcher and former Pentagon official said Wednesday. During a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar, they said the announcement highlights the shortcomings of the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), arguing that it and other U.S. arms control policies have failed to keep up with the pace of technology.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a State Department reauthorization bill Sept. 18 that would consolidate the State Department’s sanctions activities into a new Sanctions Policy Bureau led by an assistant secretary for sanctions policy (see 2509110039).

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.