The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued guidance (here) to implement technical assistance, manufacturing license, and warehouse and distribution agreements in accordance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. “These Guidelines are intended to be an aid to the public and no guidance contained herein is intended to be mandatory,” the “Guidelines for Preparing Agreements” say. “To the extent that these Guidelines conflict with any provision of the ITAR, the ITAR shall control.”
The State Department extended the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation for the Army of Islam (here), the Communist Party of the Philippines (New People's Army) (here), the Indian Mujahedeen (here) and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (here), State said. "Global Terrorist" designations include prohibitions against knowingly providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources to, or engaging in transactions with, the individuals. The designations also freeze all property and interests of the individuals in the U.S. or in the control of U.S. citizens.
The State Department entered into a $200,000 settlement on Oct. 5 with Turi Defense Group and Marc Turi for their role in the unauthorized proposal for sale or transfer of defense articles to Libya, where defense article exports are prohibited under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the State Department said (here).
The U.S. and 44 other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea, on Oct. 5 issued a joint statement (here) calling for transparency in armed drone exports. The statement cited the importance of aligning drone export practices with international arms control and disarmament norms and regimes to help build confidence that nations’ intentions are peaceful, as well as to take into account “the potential recipient country’s” history of compliance with relevant international commitments. “In light of the rapid development of [unmanned aerial vehicle] technology and the benefit of setting international standards for the export and subsequent use of such systems, we are resolved to continue discussions on how these capabilities are transferred and used responsibly by all States,” the statement says. “We call upon other governments to support this declaration.”
The State Department amended the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to designate Tunisia as a major non-NATO ally, and to update defense trade policy for Eritrea, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, State announced in an interim final rule (here). As a major non-NATO ally, Tunisia can now receive loans of equipment and materials for cooperative research and development projects and evaluations with the U.S., and is authorized to use U.S. financing to buy or lease certain defense equipment, among other things. The ITAR now reflects an Oct. 23, 2015, UN Security Council resolution reaffirming the arms embargoes on Eritrea and Somalia, as well as new exceptions for both countries enumerated in the resolution. A June 23 resolution expanded DRC arms embargo exemptions, and the ITAR updates reflect this, too. Further, State removed from the ITAR its general license denial policy for defense exports to and imports from Liberia and the Ivory Coast. The rule also removes licensing restrictions relating to defense trade with Sri Lanka, and reflects Secretary of State John Kerry’s May 2016 termination of the U.S. arms embargo on Vietnam. State is accepting comments on the rule until Oct. 31.
Secretary of State John Kerry trumpeted the Trans-Pacific Partnership during an address at the Wilson Center Sept. 28, portraying the opportunity for the U.S. to become an Asia-Pacific power through the pact as black-and-white and noting that U.S. military officials support the deal, which will strengthen standards important to the U.S. (here). “Either the United States of America is an Asia-Pacific power, or we are not,” Kerry said. “And the ‘not’ carries with it serious consequences.”
The State Department is revising the definition of “retransfer” and making other clarifying revisions to its June 3 interim final rule that updates definitions in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) (see 1606020004), State said (here). A final rule to take effect Sept. 8 will change the definition of “retransfer” to clarify that temporary transfers to third parties and releases to same-country foreign persons fall within the scope of the definitions, State said.
All Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) systems, including DTrade and Electronic Form Submission (EFS), will undergo system maintenance and be unavailable to industry from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 9, DDTC said (here).
The State Department added Abdiqadir Mumin to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, State said (here). "Global Terrorist" designations include prohibitions against knowingly providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources to, or engaging in transactions with, the individuals. The designations also freeze all property and interests of the individuals in the U.S. or in the control of U.S. citizens.
The U.S. and India on Aug. 31 agreed to launch a bilateral webinar series to explore mutual trade opportunities and help integrate U.S. and Indian firms into global supply chains, according to a joint statement on the Aug. 31 meeting (here). The “U.S.-India State Spotlight Webinar Series” will highlight trade, supply chain and investment opportunities in various U.S. and Indian states, according to the statement. "We believe that forging new partnerships at the state and regional level will yield great benefits for both Indian and American companies and our Indian and American communities, and will certainly grow our bilateral trade," Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said during the opening plenary of the dialogue (here).