The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on procedures, such as an interim rule, that the U.S. government is establishing to implement a procurement ban against firms that export communication-disrupting technology to Iran. While the ban is part of the 2010 Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (CISADA), as of June 24, 2011, the government had identified no entities subject to the ban and GAO did not identify any firms that export technologies to the Iranian government for monitoring, filtering, and disrupting information and communications flows.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is announcing a 60-day comment period for a proposed information collection concerning import, end-user, and delivery verification certification. BIS states that this collection of information provides the certification of overseas importers to the U.S. Government that specific commodities will be imported from the U.S. and will not be reexported, except in accordance with U.S. export regulations. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for the Office of Management and Budget approval of this information collection. Comments are due by September 6, 2011.
The Department of Defense has issued an interim rule, effective June 6, 2011, which amends the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement section 821 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011, which prohibits specification of the use of fire-resistant rayon fiber for production of military uniforms in solicitations issued before January 1, 2015. According to DoD, this will provide opportunity for offerors to propose alternative solutions to meet DoD requirements. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/05/11 news, 11010513, for BP summary of the FY 2011 NDAA provisions on fire resistant fiber.)
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has updated its guidance regarding requests for reconsideration and/or clarification of a proviso imposed on a DSP1 license, in order to remove the option of submitting such requests as General Correspondence (GC). DDTC has also added new supporting documentation requirements for such requests (as well as deletion requests) and DDTC response information to the guidance.
On July 1, 2011, the Bureau of Industry and Security announced that Mohammed El-Gamal, President and CEO of Applied Technology Inc. (ATI), has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $340,000 to settle allegations related to the export of controlled networking equipment to Libya without the required export licenses, in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
The International Trade Administration's U.S. Commercial Service is extending the application deadline for its senior executive-led trade mission for multi-modal transportation and infrastructure development products and services to Doha, Qatar and Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates on October 29- November 3, 2011, which is designed to increase exports of products and services that contribute to infrastructure development projects in Qatar and UAE. Applications are now due by July 15, 2011 (extended from June 20, 2011).
The Bureau of Industry and Security announces that the Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee will hold a partially open meeting on July 26, 2011. The agenda for the public session includes remarks from BIS management and industry presentations regarding export controls applicable to sensors and instrumentation equipment and technology.
The European Commission has launched a debate and seeks comments by October 31, 2011 on how the European Union's system of export controls should be administered for dual-use goods (items that have both military and civilian uses). The Commission states this consultation is being conducted to gather input on: (i) the detailed provisions of the current export control framework in order to prepare a review of the system; and (ii) the progressive reform of the EU dual-use export control system in order to adapt it to changing circumstances of the modern world.
The Department of Defense has issued a final rule, effective June 29, 2011, which amends the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to revise the definitions of “Caribbean Basin country” and “designated country” regarding the islands that comprised the Netherlands Antilles: Curacao; Sint Maarten; Bonaire; Saba; and Sint Eustatius. The Netherlands Antilles was designated as a beneficiary country under the CBI. According to the CBI, successor political entities remain eligible as beneficiary countries. Therefore, the definitions have been revised to replace “Netherlands Antilles” with the five separate successor entities.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has updated its guidance on supporting documentation for DSP-73 (temporary export) and DSP-61 (temporary import) license applications in order to add information regarding the scope and quantity limits of items entered under a DSP-61 license.