The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls scheduled an April 30 update of its Defense Export Control and Compliance System to allow license drafters to select the empowered official to sign and submit a license, the DDTC said April 29. The update will return all licenses in “awaiting signature” status to “draft” status. License drafters should open the license and select empowered official “to return the license to the 'Awaiting Signature' status,” the DDTC said. Due to the update, the agency said it expected DECCS to be unavailable to industry from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. EDT April 30.
Maltese authorities charged five men for violating European Union sanctions on Libya, according to an April 25 notice from the Malta Police Force. The arrests, which resulted from “weeks of investigations,” came after the men allegedly used a Malta-registered company to illegally export two ships to Libya. The men pleaded not guilty.
The United Kingdom amended a sanctions entry for Martin Koumtamadji, according to an April 29 notice from the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. Koumtamadji, the leader of an anti-government militia in the Central African Republic (see 2004220011), is still subject to an asset freeze.
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing “significant disruption” for the Wassenaar Arrangement, leading to the cancelation of at least one meeting and creating uncertainty about whether the group can remotely vote on new export controls, two Commerce Department officials said. Wassenaar was forced to cancel its April Experts Group meeting -- which normally addresses issues related to its lists of controlled items -- and is unsure if global travel restrictions will force cancellations of future meetings in June and its annual plenary session in December.
The Commerce Department has drafted a regulation that will address the ability of U.S. companies to participate in 5G standards setting bodies involving Huawei, a top Commerce official said. The rule is still being discussed within Commerce and has not yet been cleared for interagency review, Matt Borman, Commerce’s deputy assistant secretary for export administration, said during an April 29 Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee meeting.
The State Department asked for comments on an information collection related to requests to change end-user, end-use or destination of hardware information for exports, according to a notice. The requests, using Form DS-6004, are submitted to the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls before the sale is made. The Office of Management and Budget requested “emergency review and approval” of the collection, the State Department said, adding that comments “must be received” by April 29.
The Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference (RevCon), which was expected to include a discussion on export controls on weapons proliferation (see 2003030058), was postponed due to the measures involved in battling the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an April 27 notice from the State Department. The agency said it supports the decision to postpone the conference and will “work constructively with other NPT Parties to maintain and strengthen the Treaty, including at the RevCon when conditions allow it to be held.”
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The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security is working on guidance to help industry comply with the expanded licensing requirements for exports to China announced earlier this week (see 2004270027). The guidance will address new restrictions on exports intended for military users and uses, said Matt Borman, Commerce deputy assistant secretary for export administration. The rule expands the definition for military end-use and will cover military end-users in China, placing more of a compliance burden on industry.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended a Burma-related sanctions listing, according to an April 27 notice. OFSI updated the listing for Than Oo, who is still subject to an asset freeze. In a related action, the European Union renewed sanctions against Burma for one year until April 30, 2021, according to an April 24 notice.