The U.S. completed its first shipment of oil to Belarus last week, clearing a path for new “trade opportunities” for U.S. oil exporters, the State Department said May 15. State urged Belarus to continue to “increase the access of American businesses to its market” to allow more purchases from U.S. exporters. “The United States stands ready to meet the import requirements of countries that, like Belarus, want to benefit from enhanced energy security based on supply diversification,” the agency said.
The State Department approved a potential $230 million military sale to Hungary for 60 AIM-120C-7/C-8 AMRAAMER missiles and other equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said May 8. The prime contractor is Raytheon.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will hold a virtual meeting May 21 to discuss with industry the terms of a potential agreement to produce personal protective equipment, FEMA said in a notice. The agreement would “maximize the effectiveness of the distribution of critical health and medical resources nationwide” to respond to pandemics, FEMA said, including establishing terms for coordination between the federal government and PPE manufacturers. “The agreement would establish the terms, conditions, and procedures under which participants agree voluntarily to contribute and facilitate health and medical resource production and distribution capacity as requested by FEMA,” the agency said. FEMA is currently overseeing export control decisions on U.S. shipments of PPE (see 2004210022).
The State Department approved a potential military sale to Egypt worth $2.3 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said May 7. The sale includes 43 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, the DSCA said. The principal contractors are Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The State Department approved a potential military sale to the United Arab Emirates worth $556 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said May 7. The sale includes more than 4,500 “MRAP” vehicles, the DSCA said. The vehicles will be sourced from U.S. Army stocks as “excess defense articles,” the agency said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on May 4 announced “increased availability” of credit guarantees for agricultural exports for 2020. The credit is available under the Commodity Credit Corporation’s Export Credit Guarantee Program, and includes export credit for Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, the Caucasus region, Central Asia, Asia and Latin America.
The State Department approved two potential military sales to the Philippines worth $450 million and $1.5 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said April 30. The first sale includes six AH-1Z attack helicopters and the second sale includes six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, the DSCA said. The principal contractors for the first sale are Bell Helicopter Textron and General Electric. The contractors for the second sale are Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security is still planning to hold its annual conference in Washington, D.C., this summer, and officially opened registration for the event on April 30. BIS said it is “closely monitoring” COVID-19 updates and will notify industry of any changes to the June 29-July 1 conference. The conference's agenda includes sessions on license exceptions, semiconductors, end-use checks, updates on export controls, export enforcement and more.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said that CBP told members of the trade community that very little of the personal protective equipment subject to export oversight is being slowed on its way out of the country. The CBP official said that out of 1,000 shipments, it is reviewing 100 and holding 10.
The State Department issued a notice to inform industry of a series of compliance, licensing and management measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The notice includes measures announced by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on April 23 (see 2004240017). The measures allow for temporary “suspensions, modifications, and exceptions” of certain International Traffic in Arms Regulations requirements, including registration renewals, time limits on licenses and agreements, and remote working measures.