The Bureau of Industry and Security released a final rule Aug. 28 that will ease export controls on Syria by making the country eligible for more license exceptions and revising current BIS license review policies for Syria to “be more favorable.” The rule, effective Sept. 2, will also create a new License Exception Syria Peace and Prosperity, which will authorize exports and reexports to Syria of items designated under the Export Administration Regulations as EAR99.
The EU this week posted new guidance about ownership and control to its Sanctions Helpdesk website, describing the rules that apply to entities owned or controlled by a sanctioned party, how the EU defines ownership and control, how EU companies can rebut the presumption of ownership or control, and more. The guidance also recommended that EU companies take several due diligence steps to make sure their customers, suppliers and counterparties aren't controlled by a sanctioned entity or person, including by collecting information to verify their ownership structure, checking any possible "red flags" and asking questions to "resolve any remaining concerns."
The State Department is seeking public comments on an information collection related to Part 130 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which deals with political contributions, fees and commissions relating to sales of defense articles and services. Under the ITAR, defense exporters shipping certain goods worth more than $500,000 to a foreign armed service, international organization or others must notify the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls about certain political contributions or fees associated with the sale, the agency said. Comments are due Oct. 27.
A bill to repeal a U.S. economic sanctions law targeting Syria was among the topics Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., discussed with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a visit to the Middle Eastern country, Shaheen's office said Aug. 25.
A new law that will require the Bureau of Industry and Security to provide Congress with annual reports on certain export licensing information could lead to more "scrutiny" over BIS licensing activity, including through congressional hearings, Akin said in a client alert this week. The firm also said it could increase congressional requests to certain exporters or give rise to more legislation "regarding the scope of controls, parties to be added" to the Entity List or the Military End User List, or "requests for revocation of licenses."
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The head of the House Select Committee on China urged the Trump administration Aug. 25 to adopt a new framework for restricting computing chip exports to China, saying placing certain technical limits on such sales would be a more effective way to keep Beijing’s AI capabilities in check.
The State Department is finalizing changes from a January rule that will add and remove items on the U.S. Munitions List and clarify the control scope of others. It said some new items should be subject to export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, while others “no longer warrant inclusion” or will soon be moved to the Commerce Department’s Commerce Control List. The agency will also create a new license exemption for underwater drones and tweak other portions of the January rule, but it declined to make multiple changes requested by exporters.
President Donald Trump threatened to impose export controls on technology and semiconductors if countries have digital policies he dislikes.
Ian Richardson, who was named the first chief counsel for corporate enforcement at DOJ’s National Security Division in 2023 (see 2309120017), left the government this month to join Paul Weiss as a lawyer working on national security issues, he announced on LinkedIn. Richardson was most recently chief counsel of DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.