Export.gov has announced the following series of trade missions that are scheduled for January through April 2012:

On January 5, 2012, the Office of Foreign Assets Control added Al-Qa'ida Kurdish Battalions (a.k.a. Kurdistan Battalion of Islamic State in Iraq; a.k.a. Kurdistan Brigade of Al-Qaeda in Iraq; a.k.a. Kurdistan Brigades; a.k.a. "AQKB"), Iran; Iraq [SDGT] to its "Specially Designated Nationals" list. SDNs are (i) individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries or (ii) individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. The assets of listed SDNs are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has posted the minutes from its November 9, 2011 Defense Trade Advisory Group Plenary meeting. Among other things, DTAG officials and the trade discussed three trade working group reports on the transfer of items from the U.S. Munitions List (USML) to the CCL, the definition of public domain, and the single license form. All three reports and associated recommendations were approved for submission to the DDTC.

The President has issued a memorandum for the Secretary of State containing his determination on the eligibility of South Sudan to receive defense articles and defense services under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act, as amended. The President finds that the furnishing of defense articles and defense services to the Republic of South Sudan will strengthen the security of the U.S. and promote world peace.

The State Department has submitted three proposed rules to the Office of Management and Budget to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations for U.S. Munitions List (USML) Categories I (Firearms), II (Artillery Projectors) and III (Ammunition). (Submitted 12/05/11)

On January 5, 2012, the State Department sent the Office of Management and Budget a final rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to add an exemption for the temporary export of chemical agent protective gear for exclusive personal use to destinations not subject to restrictions under ITAR Section 126.1 and to Afghanistan and Iraq under specified conditions.

The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective January 9, 2012, which imposes a license requirement on exports and reexports to all destinations other than Canada of two types of microwave and millimeter wave electronic components. The two components are packaged high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) and packaged microwave “monolithic integrated circuits” (MMIC) power amplifiers.

Export.gov has announced that registration is available for a number of upcoming export-based webinars to be held in 2012. General topics such as letters of credit, export documentation, and choosing a freight forwarder will be covered, as well as target products for select export markets such as solar energy for Brazil, efficient energy products for the European Union and Saudi Arabia, infrastructure in India, and reconstruction opportunities in Haiti.

Census has updated its 2011 AES Import Concordance for the textile-bottomed footwear changes made by Proclamation 8742 effective December 3, 2011. (The AES Import Concordance lists all current HTS numbers that can be reported for export purposes. It is updated periodically to reflect changes to the HTS and excludes HTS numbers that are not valid for AES.) Census sources note that they will be posting a 2012 AES Import Concordance shortly which will reflect certain 484(f) Committee changes that took effect January 1, 2012. Census will update the AES Import Concordance again when the Proclamation implementing the World Customs Organization-recommended changes that take effect on February 3, 2012. 2011 AES Import Concordance (updated as of 12/28/11) available here.

The State Department has published a list of 42 Notifications of Proposed Commercial Export Licenses, which it has forwarded to the Congress pursuant to sections 36(c) and 36(d) and in compliance with section 36(f) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 USC 2776). The list includes certifications and amendments of proposed manufacturing license agreements and technical assistance agreements for the transfer and/or export of defense articles (including technical data) and defense services, to the following countries for the listed purposes: