The Census Bureau is seeking public comments by Nov. 10 on an information collection involving the Automated Export System, it said in a notice released this week. The agency also said it's working on a separate rule that would help it record the country of origin for exports of foreign-produced goods (see 2508130022, 2203160026, 2301230008, 2309130002 and 2403270056). In addition, it's working on a "future rule" to address "the duplicative nature of the State of Origin data element," an issue that has been raised by Census officials and trade groups for at least two years (see 2310310053 and 2310240069).

The State Department’s recently published spring 2025 regulatory agenda previews several export control rules that the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is hoping to issue this year, including revisions to the U.S. Munitions List, updates to the definition for defense services, updates to its AUKUS exemption, and more.

Benjamin Haas, former Bureau of Industry and Security chief of staff during the Biden administration, has joined Highland Creek Advisors, a new Washington management consultancy, according to the firm's website. Haas left BIS in January.

Will Hunt has left his position as a senior adviser with the Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Export Administration to join the House Select Committee on China as a senior fellow. Hunt first joined BIS in 2023 before leaving the agency this month, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Thailand opened a safeguard investigation on polypropylene on Sept. 3, notifying the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards of the investigation this week. Interested parties can submit evidence or views on the proceeding to the nation's Department of Foreign Trade by Sept. 24.

Vanquis Bank Limited, the British bank that the U.K. said failed to stop a newly sanctioned person from withdrawing money from their account (see 2509080008), has "taken steps to strengthen our screening processes to prevent similar incidents" in the future, a spokesperson said this week. The spokesperson also stressed that the U.K. government didn't impose a fine against the bank, the issue was self-reported, and the bank cooperated with the government's investigation.

The European Commission issued new guidance this week to clarify how its Russia-related sanctions apply to parties and entities “acting on behalf or at the direction of” a sanctioned Russian party. New FAQ 17 says the commission may consider that an EU subsidiary is acting on behalf of a Russian parent company if the subsidiary obtains approvals from the parent company, carries out “instructions given directly or indirectly” by the parent company, or appoints or dismisses any “authorised representatives” associated with the company. The EU subsidiary may need to put in place “a public trusteeship or a similar firewall measure” to prevent any sanctions violations, the guidance said.

The EU this week updated its dual-use export control list to align it with decisions taken by the multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement, Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group and Nuclear Supplier Group in 2024. The update "also includes commitments that Member States have accepted, as members of the Wassenaar Arrangement, to control additional items uniformly," the European Commission said.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which issued an interim final rule in March to revise its implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), is reviewing public comments on it to help write a final rule, Director Andrea Gacki said Sept. 9.

The State Department this week issued a minor correction to last month's final rule that will add and remove items on the U.S. Munitions List and clarify the control scope of others (see 2508260011). The agency said “an asterisk was inadvertently omitted from the amendatory text.”