The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week posted the minutes and white papers from its April Defense Trade Advisory Group plenary (see 2204290032). The white papers include presentation information and recommendations from three DTAG working groups, including a recommendation for a new International Traffic in Arms Regulation exemption, recommendations for clarifications and corrections to certain ITAR definitions, and a report on ITAR-related challenges for controlled unclassified information.
The Bureau of Industry and Security soon will introduce a congressional notification requirement for certain firearm exports, the agency said in a final rule. The change, effective July 18, will add a new section to the Export Administration Regulations that will require congressional reporting for certain semiautomatic firearms shipments valued at $4 million or more and destined to certain countries. The requirement will apply to certain guns whose export control authority was transferred from the State Department to the Commerce Department in 2020 (see 2001170030).
The State Department is seeking comments on an information collection related to defense trade registration, the agency said in a notice. The information collection applies to companies registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and involved “in the business of manufacturing or exporting or temporarily importing defense articles or furnishing defense services.” Comments are due June 27.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls renewed the Defense Trade Advisory Group charter for two years, according to a copy of the renewal released this week.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls recently posted two new frequently-asked-questions under its licensing and registration guidance pages.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls posted the slide presentations from the April 28 Defense Trade Advisory Group plenary meeting (see 2204290032). The slides include presentations from several DTAG working groups, including a recommendation for a new International Traffic in Arms Regulation exemption, recommendations for clarifications and corrections to certain ITAR definitions, and a report on ITAR-related challenges for controlled unclassified information.
A federal government payment website, Pay.gov, will undergo “critical maintenance activity” from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT May 21 and may be unavailable to users, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said. DDTC said the outage will affect users paying registration fees during that window. Questions or concerns should be directed to Pay.gov customer support at 800-624-1373 or pay.gov.clev@clev.frb.org.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls released its notifications to Congress of recently proposed export licenses. The January through March notices feature arms sales to numerous countries, including South Korea, Qatar, India, Saudi Arabia, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
The State Department again determined Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela and Cuba aren't “cooperating fully” with U.S. antiterrorism efforts, a notice released May 19 said. Under the Arms Export Control Act, no defense article or defense service may be sold or licensed for export to a foreign country that is determined not to be cooperating, unless a waiver is granted.
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review that would introduce a congressional notification requirement for certain weapons exports. The rule, sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs May 17, would require notifications for certain semiautomatic firearms exports under the Export Administration Regulations.