Joshua Levy, a DOJ attorney who oversaw multiple high-profile export control-related cases, will resign from the federal government Jan. 17, the agency announced this week. Levy most recently served as the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, leading an office that charged two men in December for shipping sensitive drone technology to Iran (see 2412170021) and that fined American defense firm RTX in October to resolve allegations that it tried to defraud the U.S. government and commit defense export control violations (see 2410160058).
The State Department is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation, the agency said in a notice released Jan. 8 and effective Jan. 10. The new amounts, which include revised maximum penalties for violations of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Arms Export Control Act, will apply only to penalties assessed on or after Jan. 10, the agency said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Jan. 8 that he is considering how he will vote on a bill to sanction International Criminal Court (ICC) officials for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials (see 2501060025).
President Joe Biden on Jan. 8 amended the scope of a 2021 executive order that authorizes certain sanctions against people and entities threatening the sovereignty of the Western Balkans or that are engaging in corruption in the region. The order includes new language that authorizes sanctions against any “leader, official, or member of an entity, including a government entity, that has engaged in, or attempted to engage in” the sanctionable activities outlined in the order. It also authorizes sanctions against the spouses or adult children of people sanctioned under the order.
The Biden administration has revised its policy guidance for missile technology exports to streamline defense trade with close allies while renewing its commitment to global nonproliferation efforts, the White House said Jan. 7.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has completed a round of interagency review for a new interim final rule that’s expected to place new export controls on advanced AI-related chips. The rule, “Export Control Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion,” was sent for interagency review Dec. 9 and the review was completed Jan. 7. The upcoming restrictions have received criticism from at least one major technology company and two industry groups for being overbroad (see 2501060015 and 2501080034).
The Bureau of Industry and Security's upcoming export controls on advanced AI-related semiconductors will introduce expansive compliance hurdles and sales limitations that will hurt American firms and could push U.S. allies to work closer with China, a major technology think tank and a leading semiconductor industry group said this week.
China’s Foreign Ministry this week objected to the U.S. Defense Department’s recent update to the list of companies with ties to the Chinese military, calling the list “discriminatory.” The Pentagon announced it had added China-based Tencent, owner of the messaging app WeChat, and CATL, a Chinese battery maker, in a notice released this week (see 2501060024).
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said Jan. 7 that he plans to reintroduce a bill to require additional sanctions against those committing or enabling atrocities in Sudan, systematically blocking humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country, or violating the UN arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region.
A bipartisan group of four House members reintroduced a bill Jan. 3 to sanction officials who undermine democracy in the Republic of Georgia.