The Bureau of Industry and Security, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the State Department are issuing final rules to add new requirements for exports to Cuba and for direct financial transactions with Cuban entities and subentities that State identifies on its Cuba Restricted List. Under its rule, BIS will generally deny applications for the export or re-export of items for use by those certain entities or subentities, unless such transactions are consistent with President Donald Trump’s June 16 memo charting the policy to restrict sales to certain Cuban entities. That directive expressly exempts exports of agricultural commodities, medicines and medical devices to Cuba made pursuant to the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, for example (see 1706190021). BIS is also amending its list of ineligible Cuban government officials in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to include certain additional individuals.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is amending its regulations to change the list of eligible destinations and items for shipments to China under the validated end user (VEU) authorization for Lam Research Service Co., Ltd., BIS said. Effective Oct. 23, BIS is adding six facilities, changing the address for one facility, changing the name for two facilities, changing the name and address for one facility, and removing one facility on the list of Lam’s eligible facilities. The final rule will also limit the authorization for ECCN 3D001 software (excluding source code) for all facilities to allow only such software specially designed for the "development" or "production" of equipment controlled by paragraph .e of ECCN 3B001 (Automatic loading multi-chamber central wafer handling systems having all of the following:...). BIS is making a "similar limitation" for 3D002 software (excluding source code) for all facilities, so that only such software specially designed for the "use" of equipment controlled by 3B001.e qualifies as an eligible item.
The Trump administration is lifting sanctions blocking the property of the government of Sudan and generally banning U.S. individuals from engaging in transactions with Sudan and the government of Sudan, effective Oct. 12, Treasury said. Former President Barack Obama through a Jan. 13 executive order directed the lifting of sanctions on Sudan by July 12, 2017, before President Donald Trump postponed the termination of sanctions until Oct. 12 (see 1707120008). Effective that day, Office of Foreign Assets Control General License A will be required for certain exports and re-exports to Sudan of agricultural commodities, medicine and medical devices, because of Sudan’s listing on the U.S. government’s State Sponsors of Terrorism List, Treasury said. That license will authorize all exports and re-exports of agricultural commodities, medicine or medical devices to Sudan, provided that items are shipped within 12 months of the date of signing the export or re-export contract. Further, individuals will still need to be licensed by the Bureau of Industry and Security to export or re-export to Sudan certain items on the Commerce Control List. The State Department is issuing a notice in the Federal Register stating that Sudan has taken several positive actions that warrant the lifting of sanctions.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is understaffed as average license processing times are expected to increase with the recent shifts of items requiring less complex authorizations from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List, DDTC officials said Oct. 4 during the Bureau of Industry and Security annual export control policy conference. Although the average processing time for licenses is currently 27 days, DDTC expects that number to increase in fiscal year 2018, amid a complicated global geopolitical situation and as several transactions are “on hold” due to a “variety” of policy issues, said Catherine Hamilton, chief of DDTC’s Office of Defense Trade Controls Licensing division for space, missile, and sensor systems. “Also, as a result of [export control reform], the low-hanging fruit has all transitioned to the Department of Commerce,” said Hamilton, referring to the shift of some less sensitive items to the less restrictive Commerce Control List, as required by a 2013 executive order.
The State Department this year plans to start its “next generation” of Export Control Reform (ECR) by taking a “wholesale look” at the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) through an extensive review, State Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Trade Controls Brian Nilsson said Oct. 4 during the Bureau of Industry and Security annual export control policy conference. The ITAR examination would be the first of its kind since 1984, he said. “What we’re actually looking at is the restructuring of the ITAR to basically put it more into a military operations manual with like things together -- put all our authorities in one place, put all our authorizations in one place, put any exemptions … in one place, put all our definitions in one place,” Nilsson said. Any resulting policy change would come through a proposed rule and solicitation for public comment, he said. State hopes that the review will help identify ITAR omissions and contradictions created during ECR efforts “that need to be fixed,” Nilsson said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is continuing export control reform (ECR) work left by the Obama administration, BIS Assistant Secretary for Export Administration Richard Ashooh said Oct. 3 during his agency’s annual Washington export control policy conference. BIS has not yet shifted items from U.S. Munitions List Categories I (firearms, close assault weapons, and combat shotguns), II (guns and armament) and III (ammunition/ordnance) to the Commerce Control List, after the Obama administration didn’t continue ECR for those classes of goods (see 1612150032). “BIS is working hard to transfer the remaining items identified in ECR, which have yet to be implemented, but we’re working hard,” Ashooh said. “And this is emblematic of our attentions to ECR, to ensure that the broad changes made, and about to be made, are fully implemented and understood by the export community.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comment on the effect of current foreign policy-based export controls set forth in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), BIS said. Comments are due by Oct. 7. Comments will help the agency determine whether to continue these export controls past their current January 2018 expiration to January 2019, and will be included in a report to be sent to Congress. Foreign policy-based export controls are outlined in EAR parts 742 (Commerce Control List-based controls), 744 (end-user and end-use-based controls), and 746 (embargoes and other special controls).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is issuing a final rule to align the Commerce Control List (CCL) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) with changes made to the Wassenaar Arrangement’s List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies during the December 2016 Wassenaar Plenary Meeting, BIS said. Eight export control classification numbers (ECCNs) in CCL Category 3 (electronics) were revised, more than in any other category. There will be revisions to 50 ECCNs in total, BIS said. Among the changes is the addition of "Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits" (MMICs) to the list of integrated circuits in the note to ECCN 3A001.a, covering general-purpose integrated circuits.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to align with changes to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Annex agreed to by MTCR member countries in October 2016, BIS said (here). The final rule is revising 13 Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs), adding one ECCN, revising two EAR-defined terms, and making conforming EAR changes to implement agreements reached at the recent meetings, and to better align missile technology (MT) controls on the Commerce Control List with the MTCR annex, BIS said. The final rule takes effect July 7. U.S. companies now face a 30-day deadline to export or re-export items under license exceptions or without a license that are impacted by the ECCN revisions. The Commerce Department made similar revisions after recent years' MTCR meetings (see 1604010003, 1504060013, and 14052324).
The Senate Banking Committee on May 23 approved President Donald Trump’s nomination of Mira Ricardel as director of the Bureau of Industry and Security, a committee spokeswoman said in an email. If confirmed, Ricardel would be tasked with taking a leading role in the Trump administration’s review of whether export control reform would move forward to transfer items from U.S. Munitions List categories I (firearms, close assault weapons, and combat shotguns), II (guns and armament) and III (ammunition/ordnance), to the Commerce Control List (see 1705160040). The office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t comment on when the full body might hold a confirmation vote for Ricardel.