Trade adviser Sara Crossman has launched Crossman ITAR Consulting to advise on defense trade issues related to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, she announced on LinkedIn. Crossman was previously managing director for FTI Consulting.
President Donald Trump this week ordered his administration to reduce regulatory restrictions around sales of weapons and other military items to U.S. partners, saying he wants to speed up foreign military sales and make the process more “transparent.”
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has named Stephen Lovegrove, a former U.K. national security adviser and defense minister, the special representative to the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. Lovegrove called AUKUS a “uniquely powerful partnership which will develop and deliver cutting-edge capabilities” and help boost the U.K.’s defense industrial base. “I look forward to starting work immediately to help maximise the potential of this vital partnership,” he said.
Technology companies and industry groups mostly supported a January State Department rule that will add items to the U.S. Munitions List and remove other items that no longer warrant control (see 2501160027), although they said new restrictions around autonomous underwater vehicles, radar-related technology and more could cause unintended consequences.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky declared a mistrial in a case against defense contractor Quadrant Magnetics for violating export controls after the government sent the company thousands of pages of documents relevant to the case immediately prior to and during the company's trial (United States v. Quadrant Magnetics, W.D. Ky. # 3:22-00088).
The Bureau of Industry and Security has begun to experience a significant decline in export license applications for Australia and the U.K. as a result of a rule it issued last year to reduce defense-related licensing requirements for those countries, a Commerce Department official said March 19.
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.
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.
Robert Rasmussen, a technology policy coordinator within the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, resigned from his role after accepting the terms of the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, he announced March 8 on LinkedIn. Rasmussen also worked as an export compliance specialist in the Bureau of Industry and Security from 2016 to 2020 before joining DDTC in 2023. The White House offered the deferred resignation program to federal employees earlier this year, promising to pay them through September in exchange for their resignation.
The U.S. should take more steps to slash export barriers hindering defense trade with close allies, especially Australia, industry officials and a researcher said last week.