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.
Businesses are relieved by the quasi-truce between China and the U.S., consultants and lawyers said on a trade panel last week, but those in the tech sectors expect more restrictions are coming in the near future.
Industry lawyers and advisers see the Bureau of Industry and Security's revamped voluntary disclosure policies as a positive set of moves that could reduce compliance burdens on exporters and encourage more companies to come forward with tips about their competitors. But at least one former government official said corporations should remain skeptical about the changes until BIS offers more clarity about how it will implement them in practice.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Feb. 15 that he has issued a subpoena to the Commerce Department for documents relating to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s recent 90-day pause in issuing new commercial firearms export licenses.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on an information collection relating to offset agreements worth more than $5 million for sales of weapons systems or defense articles to foreign countries or companies. BIS said it defines offsets as “compensation practices required as a condition of purchase in either government-to-government or commercial sales of defense articles.” Comments are due April 16.
Bureau of Industry and Security chief counsel Opher Shweiki left the federal government after over 25 years at DOJ and BIS, he said in a post on LinkedIn Feb. 14. He said he will start his “next adventure” next week. BIS didn’t immediately comment.
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.
A New York freight forwarder agreed to complete export compliance training, but won’t face a fine, after admitting to the Bureau of Industry and Security that it illegally shipped enterprise servers and switches to Iran on behalf of an Iran-based exporter.
Exporters and industry groups warned the Bureau of Industry and Security this month about placing new eligibility restrictions on License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA) for several technologies critical to their businesses, saying that could disrupt their supply chains and saddle the agency with an influx of license requests. At least one company urged BIS to launch what it said is a much-needed review of its space-related export controls, which could benefit from the license exception but that haven’t been overhauled since 2017.
U.S. enforcement officials last week continued to warn about upcoming export control penalties, saying they hope those cases encourage companies to devote more resources to their compliance programs.