The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls updated its “redline” document to help industry better view changes made to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations as a result of the agency’s ITAR reorganization effort. The revised document reflects changes made to the ITAR as a result of DDTC’s continued temporary suspension of restrictions on certain defense exports to Cyprus (see 2211210028) and “limits redlines to only those changes made by the March 23 reorganization rule” (see 2203220013).
The State Department is seeking comments on an information collection involving commodity jurisdiction determinations. The collection states that exporters may request a written determination from the agency stating whether a particular article or defense service is controlled by the U.S. Munitions List. Comments on the collection are due by Dec. 30.
The State Department is seeking comments on an information collection related to technology security and clearance plans, screening records and nondisclosure agreements. These procedures help “prevent diversion to any destination, entity, or for purposes other than those authorized by the applicable export license or other authorization” for an item subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Comments on the information collection are due by Dec 30.
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls recently posted a name change notice for Ultra Electronics Limited and waived the requirement for amendments to change approved license authorizations because of the “volume” of authorizations requiring amendments to reflect the change, DDTC said. Ultra Electronics Limited was changed to Ultra PMES Limited and Ultra Cyber Limited under a restructuring. New license applications received after Dec. 21 that identify the old name “will be considered for return without action for correction.”
DOJ reached a settlement with a Washington state-based firearms manufacturer, Aero Precision, over claims that it violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by "screening out" non-U.S. citizen job candidates, including asylees and refugees, DOJ announced. The INA says that asylees and refugees have the same eligibility to work jobs involving defense-related information as U.S. citizens, including for items controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week temporarily suspended export license requirements for certain capacitors on the U.S. Munitions List. The suspension, valid for six months from Nov. 21, could allow DDTC to better “facilitate” commercial transactions involving the capacitors, including for the energy exploration and aviation sectors.
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The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security will hold a webinar Dec. 8 to discuss information technology modernization updates. The webinar will include an overview of recent updates to DDTC’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System, BIS’s “IT Modernization roadmap” and the two agencies’ “collaboration efforts on data sharing and customer experience opportunities.”
The State Department again extended a September 2020 rule that temporarily suspended restrictions on certain defense exports to Cyprus, the agency said Nov. 21. The 2020 rule (see 2009020045) amended the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to relax restrictions surrounding exports of nonlethal defense goods and services to Cyprus, and also eased restrictions on reexports, retransfers and temporary imports. The agency extended the rule in 2021 before deciding to extend it again this year (see 2209190009). The extended rule, effective Nov. 22, will now last through Sept. 30, 2023.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week published a final rule that made various corrections to its regulations, including the restoration of a general export license that it had “incorrectly” removed in 2010. The general license allows exports of uranium from the U.S. “enriched to less than 20 percent in U-235, in the form of UF6 heels in cylinders being returned to suppliers” in member countries of the European Atomic Energy Community or the U.K., DLA Piper said in a client alert. The law firm noted that other forms of uranium materials and related technology are controlled by the Commerce Department’s Export Administration Regulations or the State Department’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The NRC’s rule takes effect Dec 14.