A Venezuela-based subsidiary of Telefonica, a global telecommunications operator based in Spain, will pay over $85.2 million to settle charges that the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, DOJ announced. The U.S. alleged that Telefonica Venezolana bribed Venezuelan government officials in exchange for preferential access to U.S. dollars in a currency auction.
The U.S. government could face a host of challenges if it tries to place export controls on AI models to protect national security, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) said in an article last week.
Turkish state-owned bank Halkbank is not shielded from "common-law foreign sovereign immunity" in the U.S. government's suit against the bank for sanctions evasion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit said earlier this week, ruling that the U.S. may prosecute it on charges that it helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions (United States v. Turkiye Halk Bankasi, 2nd Cir. # 20-3499).
U.S. aerospace firm RTX tapped senior counsel Lara Covington to head the company’s compliance with the deferred prosecution agreements announced last week with DOJ and the SEC, Covington announced on LinkedIn. Covington’s official title will be the executive director of the RTX DPA Compliance Program Office, where she will help “ensure the company successfully meets its obligations” to both agencies, she wrote in her bio. RTX will pay close to $1 billion and agreed to a range of compliance commitments to resolve allegations that it committed violations of defense export control regulations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and more (see 2410160058).
New proposed rules for U.S. surveillance technology exports will help protect human rights worldwide, but additional steps should be taken to ensure American-made products aren't used to commit abuses, Freedom House said last week.
A set of new rules released last week by the Commerce and State departments will reduce licensing requirements for exports of certain space-related items to a range of U.S. trading partners and propose to transfer export control jurisdiction over other space-related defense items from the State Department to the Commerce Department, lowering trade barriers faced by the commercial space industry for years.
American defense firm RTX will pay close to $1 billion to resolve allegations that it tried to defraud the U.S. government and committed violations of defense export control regulations and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, DOJ and the SEC said Oct. 16. The company agreed to enter into two deferred prosecution agreements to settle the claims, which included Raytheon’s alleged failure to report bribes in export licensing applications and its submission of false information to the U.S. as part of multiple foreign military defense contracts.
The U.K. on Oct. 8 revised its antidumping duties on ceramic tiles from China, revoking the duties for tiles where the largest surface equals or exceeds 0.36 meters squared "unless the differential relief on the largest surface exceeds" 3 millimeters. The U.K. also revoked duties for tiles with an "edge equal to or longer than 600mm, unless the differential relief on the largest surface exceeds 3mm." Another change adds "finishing ceramics" to the description of the covered goods, while "glazed and unglazed" will be removed from the description. The notice also extends the existing duty rates for another five years, until Nov. 24, 2027.
Export controls on American technology are helping the U.S. maintain its technological lead over foreign competitors, and the Biden administration plans to follow that blueprint for restrictions around quantum technologies, said Don Graves, deputy secretary of the Commerce Department.
LONDON -- The U.K. government is pouring more resources into enforcement of its sanctions and export controls, with a particular focus on closing loopholes that may be allowing Russia to receive restricted business services or continuing to buy critical items for its military, a senior U.K. trade official said this week.