U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that Henson Chua, a Philippines national, has pleaded guilty to a violation of the Arms Export Control Act by knowingly and willfully causing the temporary import into the U.S. of an unmanned aerial vehicle that is on the U.S. Munitions List (USML). Chua initially listed the item for sale on eBay Inc. and then engaged in communications with undercover agents from ICE Homeland Security Investigations.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA's) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has issued a final rule, effective August 29, 2011, that amends the U.S. Grain Standards Act (USGSA) regulations to make permanent a waiver, which had been due to expire on July 31, 2012, for high quality specialty grain exported in containers from the mandatory inspection and weighing requirements of the USGSA. High quality specialty grain is defined as grain in which all factors exceed the grade limits for U.S. No. 1 grain, except for the factor test weight, or grain designated as ‘‘organic.’’
The Bureau of Industry and Security announces that the Materials Technical Advisory Committee will hold a partially open meeting on August 11, 2011. The Committee advises the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Export Administration with respect to technical questions that affect the level of export controls applicable to materials and related technology. The agenda for the open session includes remarks by BIS Management and industry presentations. (Note that this summary was corrected after ITT publication to list the correct date of the meeting.)
The State Department has issued a final rule, effective September 26, 2011, that will amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the paper DS-2032 Statement of Registration to make electronic payment the sole means of annual registration fee submission.
At the Bureau of Industry and Security’s 2011 Update Conference, officials discussed BIS’ plans to finalize an updated list of “best practices” for industry regarding the transit, transshipment, and reexport of dual-use items in order to prevent diversion. A final version of the updated list is expected to be issued soon.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has announced the following entity name and/or address change(s) for new DDTC license applications. New license applications received after the listed deadline will be considered for return without action for correction to the new name and/or address (dates hyperlinked):
In June 2011, the European Commission issued a Green Paper seeking comments by October 31, 2011 on how the European Union's system of export controls should be administered for dual-use goods (items that have both military and civilian uses).
Export.gov has announced that registration is available for a number of upcoming export-based webinars.
During the Bureau of Industry and Security’s 2011 Update Conference on July 19-21, 2011, various officials from BIS, the Census Bureau, the State Department, and other agencies gave presentations on numerous topics.
The Department of State has sent the Office of Management and Budget a final rule to approve that would amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to update country policies regarding Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Iraq, North Korea, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sri Lanka, and to correct administrative and typographical errors.