The Bureau of Industry and Security last week suspended export privileges of Aratos Group, a collection of defense and technology companies in the Netherlands and Greece, and its owner for procuring goods for Russian intelligence services in violation of U.S. export controls. BIS also renewed a temporary denial order against three people and two companies also involved in a Russian sanctions evasion scheme.
The Bureau of Industry and Security again renewed the temporary denial order for Belavia Belarusian Airlines, Belarus' state-owned national airline. BIS first suspended the export privileges of the airline last June (see 2206160015) and again in December 2212150054), barring it from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The agency renewed the denial order for another 180 days on June 7 after finding Belavia continues to illegally operate aircraft subject to the EAR, including for flights between Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on June 7 withdrew a final rule from interagency review that could have expanded its nuclear nonproliferation export controls, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. BIS had sent the rule for review June 5 (see 2306060015). A BIS spokesperson didn’t comment.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will hold its annual update conference Nov. 28-30 in Washington, the agency announced this week. The conference will be in-person only and will feature keynote speakers, plenaries, breakout sessions and live question-and-answer periods with BIS and other agency officials. "Specific details and agenda to come," BIS said.
The State Department’s recently announced debarment of VTA Telecom (see 2305310040) highlights how cooperation with the government can lead to lower penalties, Miller & Chevalier said in a June 6 client alert. Although the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls didn’t “award credit” for VTA's disclosure, it did credit it for cooperating with DDTC’s investigation, which led to a debarment but no fine, the firm said. DDTC could have imposed a maximum $7.2 million penalty against the company.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is working on a new final rule that could expand its nuclear nonproliferation export controls. BIS sent the rule for interagency review June 5, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
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The Bureau of Industry and Security again renewed the temporary denial order (TDO) for three U.S. companies for their involvement in illegally exported technical drawings and blueprints to China (see 2206080068) after continuing to find evidence of additional potential export violations. The order, originally issued June 8, 2022, before being renewed in December (see 2212080007), was renewed for another 180 days on June 1, BIS said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has seen a recent spike in completed end-use checks in China after years of dormancy, which has allowed the agency to verify controlled items went to their intended destination, said Matthew Axelrod, top export enforcement official at BIS. Axelrod, speaking during a Senate Banking Committee hearing this week, said the agency has completed more than 90 checks in the last seven months, a stark turnaround from a government in China that hadn’t “scheduled a single end-use check for us in over two years.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security doesn't have a draft rule in place to increase export licensing requirements for Huawei despite rumors this year that new restrictions for the Chinese technology company were imminent, said Thea Kendler, BIS assistant secretary for export administration. Kendler also said the agency has seen a sharp decline in China-related license applications, is spending more time reviewing those applications and is prioritizing reviews of artificial intelligence items, quantum computing technology and biotechnology for new export controls.