The Federal Aviation Administration has made some progress in developing an approach to routinely check Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions data and flag sanctioned people and entities across its aircraft registration and dealer systems, the Government Accountability Office said April 9.
The Biden administration isn't ready to say whether it plans to formally designate Venezuela’s largest criminal gang, Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal organization, a State Department official said at an April 11 congressional hearing.
The U.S. and Japan agreed to continue cooperating around technology export controls in a meeting between their two top commerce ministers April 10.
The State Department has drafted a proposed rule that could create a new exemption in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations for “defense trade and cooperation” with Australia and the U.K. The agency sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs April 9.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is encouraging industry and foreign countries to do more to ensure American high-tech products don't end up in Russian weapon systems, a Commerce Department official said April 10.
The U.K. on April 10 updated its guidance on export controls covering military goods, software and technology by adding language to the section concerning disclosures and violations. The section stresses the importance of voluntary disclosures, and if an "irregularity" is found during a compliance audit carried out by the government, the "compliance inspector will have informed" the country's revenue and customs agency, "and you are strongly advised to do the same.
The U.S. last week transferred thousands of weapons and rounds of ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces that were confiscated from unflagged vessels en route to Yemen from Iran as part of a civil forfeiture action, DOJ announced on April 9. The shipment included "over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, and RPG-7s, and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition."
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on April 10 issued a new white paper with a list of “commendations” and recommendations it gave to universities and research centers during visits over the last few years to check their compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. DDTC said universities and researchers can use the eight-page paper to learn about best practices and government expectations for ITAR compliance. The agency said the visits took place between 2020 and early 2024.
The Bureau of Industry and Security remains months away from resolving a temporary pause in new firearm export licenses that was supposed to expire in January, the National Shooting Sports Foundation said this week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 11 parties to its Entity List this week for procuring items to support Iranian drone programs, China’s military modernization efforts or Russia’s military. The additions, outlined in a final rule released April 10 and effective April 11, include technology companies, logistics firms and one person based in either China, Russia or the United Arab Emirates.