The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review that could remove export licensing requirements for certain spacecraft and related items destined to Australia, Canada and the U.K. BIS sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 30.
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 for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.K. this week suspended a range of export licenses for Israel that it said are being used to ship items to the Israeli military, though members of Parliament pushed the government to impose a broader ban, including an arms embargo.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., criticized the Biden administration last week for its recent use of sanctions against Israelis, saying the practice undercuts an ally fighting a war against terrorism and emboldens enemies of Israel and the U.S. Rubio said Israel’s judicial system “is fully capable of prosecuting crimes committed within its borders” and that the administration should stop inserting itself into such matters. His comments, which he made in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, came two days after the U.S. sanctioned an Israeli non-governmental organization and an Israeli person for contributing to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank (see 2408280023).
A financial software company recently disclosed to the Office of Foreign Assets Control that it may have violated U.S. sanctions by allowing its services to be used by customers in restricted countries.
With Russia having recently restarted production of liquefied natural gas at its Western-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, compliance officers should prepare for the increased but “manageable” risks that Russian LNG poses, according to a new report released by Blackstone Compliance Services.
Defense firm RTX Corp. will pay $200 million to settle alleged violations of U.S. defense export controls, the largest standalone export penalty ever issued by the State Department. RTX voluntarily disclosed the 750 violations, the agency said in a charging letter, most of which involved “historical” issues by an aerospace firm acquired by RTX in 2018.
Peter Beckman, a former DHS official, has joined the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls as a defense trade analyst in the Defense Trade Controls Licensing office, he announced on LinkedIn. Beckman said he will specifically work on export licensing issues within the agency's Space, Missile, and Sensor Systems Division. Beckman left DHS in July, according to his LinkedIn.
The Treasury Department is seeking public comments on an information collection involving its customer identification program (CIP) regulatory rules for certain financial institutions. The agency said it requires banks and other similar financial entities to maintain “minimum standards for customer identification programs,” which can help alert the government about transactions that may be supporting terrorism, money laundering, sanctions evasion or other criminal activities. Public comments on the information collection are due Sept. 30.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had “extended discussions” about economics and national security, including technology export controls, in talks with senior leaders in China this week (see 2408280042), he said during an Aug. 29 press conference in Beijing.