The State Department extended a September 2020 rule that temporarily suspended restrictions on certain defense exports to Cyprus because it has proven to be “in the national security interest” of the U.S., the agency said in a notice released Sept. 29. The rule (see 2009020045) amended the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to relax restrictions surrounding exports of nonlethal defense goods and services to Cyprus, and also eased restrictions on reexports, retransfers and temporary imports. The agency had been considering extending the rule for several months and was monitoring whether it was helping U.S. exporters (see 2010220049). The extended rule, effective Sept. 30, will now last through Sept. 30, 2022.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week completed an interagency review for a final rule that would expand export controls on certain biological equipment software. The rule, received by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Sept. 13 (see 2109140011) and completed Sept. 28, would control software “for the operation of automated nucleic acid assemblers and synthesizers” that are “capable of designing and building functional genetic elements from digital sequence data.”
The U.S. and the European Union agreed to develop “convergent” export controls on sensitive technologies and work more closely on investment screening, the White House said in a fact sheet released after the Sept. 29 inaugural meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (see 2109270027). Although the White House didn’t name specific technologies that could come under more export control or investment scrutiny, it stressed the importance of semiconductor supply chain cooperation and said the two sides agreed to “achieve concrete outcomes by the next meeting.”
The State Department is considering an open general-license concept for certain defense exports, which would allow U.S. exporters to ship to certain U.S. trading partners without having to apply for a specific license, a senior agency official said. The concept would likely begin as a pilot program, said Mike Miller, deputy assistant secretary for defense trade in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, but it's still being discussed and there isn’t yet a timetable for release.
Venezuela has struck a deal with Iran to swap its heavy oil for Iranian condensate that can be used to up the quality of the country's tar-like crude oil, Reuters reported Sept. 25. The first shipments are expected this week, five people close to the deal said, according to Reuters. The deal, signed between the state-run companies Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. and National Iranian Oil Co., seeks to skirt U.S. sanctions for both nations. The swap is scheduled to last six months but could be extended, the report said. The Treasury Department told Reuters the U.S. can impose “secondary sanctions” against non-U.S. individuals or entities that carry out transactions with either of the oil companies. Secondary sanctions can include freezing a given party out of the U.S. financial system, fines or asset freezes.
The Defense Department issued a final rule this week amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to implement the 2020 rescission of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism (see 2012170015, 2105190006 and 2101140018). The rule, effective Sept. 29, aligns certain DOD regulations with the removal of U.S. sanctions against Sudan, including the agency’s defense commercial acquisition rules.
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The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined two Texas companies -- both subsidiaries of Netherlands-based oilfield services company ​Schlumberger Ltd. -- for violating U.S. sanctions against Russia and Sudan, OFAC said Sept. 27. The agency fined oil and gas service provider Cameron International Corp. more than $1.4 million for illegally providing services for a Russian Arctic offshore oil project and fined gas product provider Schlumberger Rod Lift, Inc. $160,000 for helping to illegally facilitate shipments to Sudan. OFAC said neither company voluntarily self-disclosed its violations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a Texas semiconductor component manufacturer nearly $500,000 for illegally exporting controlled wafers to Russia via Bulgaria (see 2012210013), the agency said in a Sept. 28 order. The company, Silicon Space Technology Corporation, which began doing business as Vorago Technologies in 2015, worked with a Russian engineering firm to export “rad-hard 16MB Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) wafers,” which were controlled under the Export Administration Regulations for spacecraft and related components.
The United Kingdom will make mandatory the inclusion of Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) numbers on license applications and registrations in the SPIRE licensing system, the Department for International Trade said Sept. 27. The U.K. said export control license applicants will need to provide an EORI issued by Revenue and Customs. The EORI will begin with GB and be followed by 12 digits; the applicant will need to enter only the 12 digits. This requirement will take effect in late autumn 2021, DIT said.