A DOJ indictment unsealed this week charges three Russians with export control violations after the agency said they illegally bought more than $225,000 worth of U.S. microelectronics, hiding from American exporters that the items were destined for the Russian military.
The Federal Maritime Commission urged carriers and terminal operators not to retaliate against shippers for questioning an invoice or filing a complaint with the FMC, warning the cargo shipping industry this week that it will pursue serious penalties against those that violate the anti-retaliation provisions of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act.
Representatives from the U.S., Singapore, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates convened this week with Maldivian officials in the Maldives to discuss export controls and other trade issues during the inaugural Maldives Strategic Trade Management Forum.
New export compliance guidance issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security outlines the agency’s due diligence expectations for financial institutions and warns that companies that “self-blind” to red flags could face penalties.
Drew Jones, a former intelligence operations specialist with the State Department, began a new role with the agency this month as a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation’s Office of Critical Technology Protection, he announced on LinkedIn. The office creates foreign policy to "protect U.S. critical technologies and to counter the malign influence and destabilizing behavior of competitive powers," according to its mission statement. Jones has worked at the State Department since 2019.
John Austerman, a former Pentagon official, is starting a new job as a division chief with the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, he announced last week on LinkedIn. The bureau oversees the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the agency responsible for implementing and enforcing the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Austerman most recently worked for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 4 again renewed the temporary denial order for Russian airline Ural Airlines, saying it has continued to illegally operate aircraft on flights within Russia and to and from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The order, first issued in October 2022 (see 2210170009) and renewed twice (see 2310100017), bars the airline from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations.
The U.S. is increasingly expecting companies to monitor government guidance as well as export violations committed by others, and to use those cases as “lessons learned” to improve their own compliance programs, lawyers said this week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week published the second quarterly update of its new boycott requester list, a list of entities that have asked other companies to boycott goods from certain countries in violation of the Export Administration Regulations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on an information collection involving export licensees transferring an active export license to another party. In those scenarios, BIS said “there must be assurances that the other party, the transferee, will also be accountable for the proper use of the license.” The agency collects information from both parties to make sure shipments exported under the license won’t be diverted or “used for purposes contrary to the authorized use of the approved license.” Comments on the information collection are due Dec. 2.