The State Department on March 22 completed a round of interagency review for a proposed rule that could make changes to registration fees under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The agency had sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Oct. 17 (see 2310190005). An agency official last year said the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls was preparing to soon propose changes to those fees (see 2310120063).

The Bureau of Industry and Security recently officially launched its new website. The agency had been operating a beta version of the website since at least December (see 2312040016). The new site has tabs on licensing information, enforcement updates, export guidance, a tool to search the Export Administration Regulations and more.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on three information collections involving export activities. Comments for each are due May 24.

A U.S. protective equipment supplier accused Mediterrenaen Shipping Co., FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage, and Total Terminals International of assessing unfair detention and demurrage, failing to extend free time and failing to send an invoice for other charges, it said in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission.

If Donald Trump is elected to a second presidential term, his administration should focus on communicating better with other governments and American companies about upcoming policy decisions, said Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative.

The Commerce Department this week announced plans to provide about $20 billion in funding and loans to Intel under the Chips Act, which it said will “strengthen” the U.S. semiconductor supply chain by ensuring more leading-edge logic chips are made in America. Commerce said Intel expects to invest more than $100 billion over the next five years to set up new chip fabs and other facilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon, and coupled with Chips Act funding, that “would mark one of the largest investments ever announced in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.”

The State Department approved two potential military sales, to Bahrain and Morocco, worth about $2.5 billion combined, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said this week.

The State Department approved a potential $90.6 million military sale to Italy, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said March 15. The sale includes “AIM-9X Sidewinder Missiles” and related equipment, and the principal contractor will be RTX Corporation.

The Federal Maritime Commission approved a settlement between Rahal International and Hapag-Lloyd and dismissed the complaint between both parties. The settlement, approved on March 15, comes after Rahal accused Hapag-Lloyd in June of failing to establish adequate facilities to return empty containers to the Port of New York and New Jersey and unfairly charging detention and demurrage (see 2307050034).

The State Department approved three potential military sales to Poland worth more than $3 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said March 12. One sale includes $1.77 billion worth of “AGM-158B-2 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles,” provided by principal contractor Lockheed Martin. Another sale includes $1.69 billion worth of “AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles,” with RTX Corp. as the principal contractor. Poland also will get $219.1 million worth of “AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder Missiles,” also from RTX Corp. as principal contractor.