A senior State Department official this week said an ongoing effort among the U.S., Australia and the U.K. to reduce defense trade restrictions will soon lead to an “unprecedented” level of technology sharing, adding that the three countries are open to adding more nations, including potentially Japan.
Beijing is looking to grow Renminbi-based financial networks to create an alternative to the dollar-dominated global financial system, which could help the country shield itself from some Western sanctions if it invades Taiwan, researchers and policy experts said this week. Although China isn’t yet ready to rely on those networks, that could change within several years, experts said.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is looking to speed up its processing of advisory opinion requests, a government official said during the Bureau of Industry and Security's annual conference last week.
U.S. government officials at the Bureau of Industry and Security’s annual conference last week underscored the value of Mandarin-language skills when conducting due diligence on potential Chinese customers.
The Bureau of Industry and Security completed nearly a quarter of its end-use checks with a “less than favorable outcome” in FY 2023, a Commerce Department official said, meaning the agency couldn’t verify those end-users as a reliable recipient of U.S.-origin export-controlled goods.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is working on a host of proposed or final regulations that could be published in the next few months, officials said last week, including revisions to its defense services controls and an exemption for certain defense trade with Australia and the U.K.
A Bureau of Industry and Security rule released last week (see 2403290060) that updated and corrected portions of the agency’s October semiconductor export controls (see 2310170055) also added a new license exception and offered clarifications to export guidance issued by BIS over the last year. The changes take effect April 4, and comments are due by April 29.
A new list published last week by the Bureau of Industry and Security names more than 150 entities that have asked companies to boycott goods from certain countries. BIS hopes the list helps “raise awareness” among companies, financial institutions, freight forwarders and others about where boycott requests may come from, allowing them to better comply with the agency’s anti-boycott regulations, said Matthew Axelrod, the BIS assistant secretary for export enforcement.
The Census Bureau is hoping to figure out within the next several weeks whether it will eliminate an Automated Export System data element that collects redundant information on an export’s state of origin, a Commerce Department official said last week.
A U.S. government official didn’t say for sure whether the Treasury Department will allow a general license involving Venezuela’s state-owned energy company to expire next month, but suggested companies should expect it to lapse if the Venezuelan government doesn’t soon reverse its crackdown on political opposition members.