The State Department has forwarded notifications of proposed export licenses to Congress as required by the Arms Export Control Act, the agency said in a Nov. 27 notice in the Federal Register. The notice includes details on the 91 notifications, sent from November 2018 until May 2019.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls met with Japanese industry representatives to discuss defense trade, the State Department said in a Nov. 25 tweet. The State Department met with representatives sponsored by Japan's Center for International Cooperation on Security Export Controls, calling it a “great opportunity to expand defense trade ties with a key ally!” The State Department last met with Japanese officials Nov. 23 on the margins of the G-20 foreign ministers meeting in Nagoya, Japan. During the meeting, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan “pledged” to continue helping Japan and South Korea’s trade dispute (see 1910240032) through “trilateral cooperation.”
A U.S. foundation representing organizations in the semiconductor technology sector will move to Switzerland due to concerns over U.S. trade restrictions, according to a Nov. 25 Reuters report. RISC-V Foundation, a non-profit, said it has not yet faced restrictions but is “concerned about possible geopolitical disruption,” according to Reuters. The move comes as the Commerce Department restricts sales to certain Chinese technology companies (see 1911180036 and 1910070076) and prepares to release proposed restrictions on emerging and foundational technologies (see 1911200045).
The Treasury Department recently released its annual report to Congress on covered transactions by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States during 2016 and 2017. The report includes trend data on the transactions, CFIUS investigations, business sectors involved in CFIUS filings and a “detailed discussion” of the “perceived adverse effects of covered transactions on the national security” of the U.S. The report also contains a section assessing whether there is “credible evidence of a coordinated strategy” by foreign governments to acquire critical U.S. technology. The report said foreign governments are “extremely likely” to use a “range of collection methods to obtain critical U.S. technologies,” saying U.S. tech is targeted by foreign “intelligence services, private sector companies, academic and research institutions, and citizens of dozens of countries.”
The Commerce Department is seeking comments on an information collection regarding 10 “miscellaneous activities” associated with exports of items controlled under the Export Administration Regulations, the agency said in a notice. The activities involve the exchange of documents among parties in an export transaction to “ensure that each party understands its obligations under U.S. law,” Commerce said. The activities also involve “writing certain export control statements on shipping documents or reporting unforeseen changes in shipping and disposition of exported commodities.” Comments are due Jan. 21, 2020.
The State Department approved four potential military sales -- to New Zealand, Australia, India and Morocco -- the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Nov. 20.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget finished an interagency review of proposed regulations resulting from the information and communications technology and services supply chain executive order, according to a Nov. 19 notice. The review was concluded “consistent with change.” The regulations were due in October and have caused concern within the U.S. technology industry (see 1910310053).
The U.S. and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding on energy mineral resources that partly aims to strengthen trade between the two countries, the State Department said Nov. 18. The agreement supports supply chains of energy materials “by facilitating trade and industry connectivity,” the agency said, part of an effort to increase industry collaboration on mineral-related goods and clean energy technologies. The two sides signed the deal because they “recognize that global demand for energy minerals will increase dramatically in the coming years, presenting complex challenges for countries endowed with these minerals,” the State Department said.
The U.S. and South Korea reached a deal that will allow for $110 million worth of annual U.S. rice exports to South Korea, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Nov. 19. The agreement will give access to more than 130,000 tons of U.S. rice exports each year and will ensure South Korea is transparent and predictable “around the tendering and auctioning” for U.S. rice. The deal gives the U.S. the “largest volume of guaranteed market access for rice” that it has ever had in South Korea, USTR Robert Lighthizer said. “It will prove enormously beneficial for American producers and their customers in Korea.”
A top State Department official will advocate for U.S. aerospace technology companies at the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai Air Show Nov. 17-19, the State Department said in a Nov. 14 press release. R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, will hold meetings on “defense trade issues” with senior officials from the UAE and other countries, the State Department said. Cooper, along with senior representatives from the Defense and Commerce departments, also plans to meet with industry executives “to promote and advocate for more than 200 U.S. companies exhibiting the latest aerospace technologies.” Allowing allies to “more easily obtain” U.S. defense goods improves U.S. national security, the press release said.