The State Department is updating its technology and bringing all external systems under a "new platform," and the transition will be complete on April 17, State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said on March 16 (here). DDTC notified the trade community of the following stages of the transition:

The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued the following name change notification on March 16:

The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is asking for test participants to submit licenses, registration applications and Commodity Jurisdiction test cases in order to assess the process while DDTC updates its software (here). The test participants will be able to check the status of the submissions via MARY during the week of March 23-27, DDTC said. Contact DDTC at 202-663-2838 or dtradehelpdesk@state.gov to participate in the trial.

The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued the following name change notification on March 12:

The State Department lifted sanctions on Feb. 26 for the Republican Unitary Enterprise Production Association Belarusneft, a Belarussian energy company, the agency said (here). State leveled the sanctions over the company’s alleged violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran involving the production of petroleum in Iran or petroleum exportation to Iran. The Belarussian company has pledged to avoid violations in the future, said State.

Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bill since International Trade Today's last legislative update:

The State Department removed sanctions against two Chinese entities, Nanjing Chemical Industries Group and the Jiangsu Yongli Chemical Engineering and Technology Import/Export Company. State leveled sanctions measures against those two entities in 1997 over chemical and biological weapon proliferation concerns.

The U.S. will level a new sanctions package against Russia if the country continues to fuel conflict in eastern Ukraine in direct violation of a recent cease fire accord, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters on Feb. 21 (here). Kerry spoke alongside British counterpart Philip Hammond in London. A European security organization brokered a cease fire deal on Feb. 12 in Minsk (here), and the agreement laid out a plan for implementation three days later.

The State Department now requires U.S. companies and foreign end-users sign and submit an addendum to Form DSP-83 at the time of application for a permanent export license for unmanned aerial systems, known commonly as drones. Temporary UAS exports, for marketing and other purposes, won't require the addendum, State said in recent days. State included the necessary addendum format with its statement (here). The agency also recently outlined a new policy for UAS trade, in a separate announcement (see 1502170065).

The State Department is putting into force control guidelines for exports of unmanned aerial systems, known commonly as drones, the agency said on Feb. 17 (here). State didn’t say when it would publish regulations on the guidelines, but said end-users will have to meet the following criteria: