The U.S. should update its export control process, specifically around licensing, to better boost the competitiveness of the space industrial base, government officials and industry representatives said. Some in industry said U.S. companies often face burdensome licensing requirements compared with foreign competitors, which hurt their standing in global markets.
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 the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The State Department on Aug. 17 completed an interagency review for a final rule that will reorganize and consolidate definitions in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 8 (see 2208090017), is part of a broader agency effort to reorganize the ITAR (see 2203220013 and 2205160026). The State Department also recently completed an interagency review for a final rule to make corrections and clarifications to the ITAR (see 2208120010).
The State Department Aug. 11 completed an interagency review for a final rule that would make certain corrections and clarifications to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, which was sent for interagency review in July, was mentioned in the agency’s spring regulatory agenda (see 2207050015).
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week announced new export controls on four technologies that can be used to produce advanced semiconductors and gas turbine engines. The controls, which were agreed to by members of the multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement at last year’s plenary, will apply to two substrates of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors, certain Electronic Computer Aided Design (ECAD) software and certain pressure gain combustion (PGC) technology.
The State Department Aug. 8 sent a final rule for interagency review that will reorganize and consolidate definitions in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, part of a broader agency effort to reorganize the ITAR (see 2203220013 and 2205160026), will consolidate the definitions into “one part” and “organize the definitions in a manner that enhances their clarity and ease of use,” the State Department said.
The State Department announced debarments against 10 people convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act. The debarments, which will be imposed starting Aug. 10, target Akeem Shonari Awer, Oben Cabalceta (see 1904230063), Rrok Martin Camaj, Claudia Guerra, Aydan Sin (see 2110060009), Roger Sobrado (see 1909060028), Shaohua Wang and Ye Sang Wang 2112220020), Tuqiang Xie (see 2203310030) and Jian Zhang. All 10 are “generally ineligible” to participate in activity controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations for three years following their dates of convictions. At the end of that period, they must apply to be reinstated from their debarment before engaging in ITAR activities.
The State Department on Aug. 3 sent a proposed rule for interagency review that would expand the definition of activities that are not exports, reexports, retransfers or temporary imports. The rule will propose to add “two additional activities” to the definition in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the agency said. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in 2019 issued an interim final rule that provided definitions for those activities (see 1912230052) and later published guidance (see 2002210019).
A federal government payment website, Pay.gov, will conduct a “routine update” 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT Aug. 6 and may be unavailable to users during that time, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said. DDTC said the outage will affect users paying registration fees during that window. Questions or concerns should be directed to Pay.gov customer support at (800) 624-1373 or pay.gov.clev@clev.frb.org.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week issued 18 frequently asked questions to provide guidance on its new open general license pilot program (see 2207190008 and 2207200005). The FAQs clarify the parameters of the two open general licenses, describe what kinds of transactions and activities they cover, detail who can use the licenses and more. In one FAQ, DDTC said it may issue more open general licenses “depending on its experience with, and observations made during, the pilot program.”