Australian export compliance officers are wary about a new proposed International Traffic in Arms Regulation exemption for defense trade with the U.S., which is causing some compliance confusion and could lead to a host of “operational challenges” for companies subject to trade regulations, said Eva Galfi, a consultant for International Trade Advisors in Australia. She said the new exemption, along with a similar rule by the Commerce Department to reduce certain license requirements for exports to Australia and the U.K., may also increase the risk of large fines for violations.
Sanctions and export control attorney Keil Ritterpusch has joined Buchanan Ingeroll as a shareholder in the international trade and national security practice group, the firm announced May 13. Ritterpusch has worked across the defense, aerospace and software sectors and has helped clients put in place compliance programs involving the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Export Administration Regulations, Foreign Trade Regulations, Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act requirements.
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a proposed rule for interagency review that could lead to new export controls on the activities of U.S. persons in support of foreign military, security or intelligence agencies.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week added 37 Chinese technology companies, manufacturing firms, research institutions and others to the Entity List for trying to acquire U.S.-export controlled items for China’s military or quantum technology capabilities, shipping controlled items to Russia, or for their ties to a “High Altitude Balloon” that the U.S. shot down last year.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will make several “conforming and clarifying” changes to the Export Administration Regulations to fix and update country and destination references, remove “obsolete” references, correct inadvertent errors and make other minor revisions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 37 Chinese entities to the Entity List for trying to acquire export controlled items for China’s military or quantum technology efforts, helping to ship controlled items to Russia, or for supporting China’s “High Altitude Balloon” program. The additions, outlined in a final rule that was released and took effect May 9, include technology companies, manufacturing firms, research institutions and others. They will be subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under a presumption of denial.
The U.S. will struggle to compete technologically with China unless it continues to loosen trade barriers around sensitive technologies for a broader range of allies outside just the U.K. and Australia, Mike Gallagher, a former member of Congress, said this week.
Companies should expect the U.S. to soon expand the statute of limitations for certain export control violations to align with a similar extension for sanctions violations, a law firm said.
Chinese nationals Han Li and Lin Chen were charged for their role in a conspiracy to illegally export controlled U.S. technology to Chinese end users, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Export Administration Regulations, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced.
The Commerce Department should start preparing export controls for dual-use artificial intelligence models, which could prevent those models from being used to make biosecurity weapons or skirt U.S. export restrictions on advanced semiconductors, researchers told the agency in comments released this month. But technology companies and industry groups warned the U.S. against overbroad controls, which they said could hurt American AI innovation.