The State Department Defense Trade Advisory Group scheduled a public meeting Jan. 16, 2014 from 9 a.m. until noon and 1:15 p.m. until 4 p.m. at State headquarters in Washington, D.C.. The agenda items are as follows:

Secretary of State John Kerry waived U.S. obligations under the Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, Section 7041(a)(1)(B), regarding the financing of military items and materials to the government of Egypt. The section reads as follows, according to the office of Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.:

The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued the following name and address changes on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22:

The State Department said the Shipping Coordinating Committee will host a public meeting Jan. 9 at 9 a.m. at the U.S. Coast Guard facility in Arlington, Va. The primary objective of the meeting is to prepare for the first Session of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction, scheduled for the IMO Headquarters in the U.K. from Jan. 20-24, 2014. The Jan. 9 agenda includes:

The State Department Advisory Committee on International Law will host a public meeting Dec. 13 from 9 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m. at the George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C. Those who wish to attend should contact the Office of the Legal Adviser by Dec. 9, via lermanjb@state.gov or (202) 776-8442. A valid photo ID is required for admission to the meeting. The committee will be open to all members of the public until capacity is reached.

The State Department is requesting public comment on the draft UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment document. The document (here) outlines global agricultural investment strategy geared toward addressing food and nutrition security. The U.S. is a member of the CFS and involved in the negotiation of the document principles. Comments should be submitted by Dec. 22 to State official Amy Diggs at DiggsAK@state.gov.

The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued the following name and address changes Nov. 20:

The State Department maintained the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation for the Kurdistan Workers' Party, along with other aliases (here). State most recently determined the Kurdish Workers' Party a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2008. In accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of the Treasury may require U.S. financial institutions to block asset transactions destined for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (here).

The DDTC external systems DTrade, TRS, EFS, Mary, and Ellie, along with DTAS Online will be unavailable to industry users from 5 p.m. on Nov. 22 to an estimated 8 a.m. on Nov. 23. DDTC is implementing system upgrades in support of National Institute of Standards and Technology federal mandate to upgrade to Access Certificates for Electronic Services digital certificates. A revised web notice will be posted once all systems are back online and operations, said DDTC.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule, effective Nov. 20, to revise existing authorizations for Chinese Validated End-Users (VEUs) by amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The rule adds two items and removes one item from the list of EAR eligible items for Samsung China Semiconductor Co. The rule adds a facility to the list of eligible destinations and two items to the list of eligible items for Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation. The rule also updates the address of the facilities used by SK hynix Semiconductor (SK hynix China) and SK hynix Semiconductor (SK hynix Wuxi). For further information, contact BIS official Karen Nies-Vogel, Chair at (202) 482-5991, ERC@bis.doc.gov or fax: (202) 482-3991.