The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is looking for candidates for its seven Technical Advisory Committees, the agency said in a notice. "Industry representatives are selected from firms producing a broad range of items currently controlled for national security, nonproliferation, foreign policy, and short supply reasons or that are proposed for such controls," BIS said. "Representation from the private sector is balanced to the extent possible among large and small firms." Six of the TACs advise the Commerce Department on the "technical parameters for export controls and the administration of those controls within specified areas." The other TAC "focuses on the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and procedures for implementing the EAR." TAC members can serve a term of up to four consecutive years and must obtain secret-level clearances prior to appointment, BIS said. Resumes should be sent to Yvette Springer at Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security said the Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee (SITAC) scheduled a partially open meeting April 30 in Washington. The public session will include an remarks from BIS management and industry presentations. The open session will be accessible via teleconference to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. To join via teleconference, submit inquiries by April 23 to Yvette Springer at Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov. A limited number of seats will also be available for in-person attendance at the public session.

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has opened its Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS) Commodity Jurisdiction Application for testing, it said in an update on its website. Industry participants may now begin testing the electronic form here, and can provide feedback by clicking a button in the application. The testing period will end April 3, DDTC said.

The Department of Justice updated its policy manual provisions on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement to reflect changes in the requirements for retention of business records, according to the department. The new guidance, which took effect March 8, lifts a ban on the use of third-party messaging apps, including WeChat, WhatsApp and Snapchat, according to a report from Skadden Arps. The changes were made in light of “certain fast-growing economies, such as China and India, where WeChat and similar messaging apps are used extensively for legitimate business communications,” the report said.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security said the Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) scheduled a partially open meeting April 2 in Washington. The public session will include an export enforcement update, regulations update, working group reports, an Automated Export System (AES) update, and presentations of papers or comments by the public. The open session will be accessible via teleconference to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. To join via teleconference, submit inquiries by March 26 to Yvette Springer at Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov. A limited number of seats will also be available for the public session.

Testing for commodity jurisdiction requests in the State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS) won’t begin until the week of March 25, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said in an updated message on its website. The message had previously said testing would begin March 20 (see 1903200046). “Another announcement will be posted when the system is available for testing,” DDTC said.

Testing for the State Department’s new system for commodity jurisdiction (CJ) requests began March 20, according to a recent post on the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls website. “The application incorporates the existing web-based system into the updated [Defense Export Control and Compliance System] platform, while maintaining user ability to submit CJ requests electronically. The system will be open through March 26th to collect user feedback,” DDTC said. Questions may be directed to the IT Modernization Team at PM_DDTCProjectTeam@state.gov, DDTC said.

The State Department is increasing civil monetary penalties for violations of the Arms Export Control Act to account for inflation, it said in a notice published in the March 19 Federal Register. For violations of AECA Section 38(e) (control of arms exports and imports) the maximum penalty will rise to $1,163,217 (from $1,134,602). Penalties for incentive payments in offset agreement violations under Section 39A(c) will rise to the greater of $845,764 or five times the payment, up from $824,959 or five times the payment; and penalties for transactions with countries supporting acts of terrorism under Section 40(k) will rise to $1,006,699, from $981,935.

The Bureau of Industry Security seeks comments by May 13 on the burden on importers from certain information collections for products subject to Export Administration Regulation export controls, it said. The agency is set to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget for these information collection requirements, which include classification, advisory and license applications and commodity classification requests.

The Bureau of Industry and Security seeks comments on the burden of its collection of information on defense offset agreements, it said in a notice. By law, U.S. companies must tell Commerce about offset agreements worth more than $5,000,000 associated with sales of weapons defense equipment to foreign countries or firms. Offsets, which are “required by most major trading partners when purchasing U.S. military equipment,” are industrial or commercial compensation practices in sales of defense articles or services under the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms regulations. Comments on the burden and ways to improve the information collection are due May 13.