The multilateral Nuclear Suppliers Group met last week for the first time in more than a year to discuss export controls over nuclear weapons, the Iran nuclear deal, nonproliferation trade restrictions and more. The 48 member countries proposed updates to NSG export control lists and tapped a U.S. official to be a new group chair. Last year’s plenary was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
FTC confirms Chair Lina Khan names three officials, who have been advisers to Commissioner Rohit Chopra, to new posts: Holly Vedova as acting director, Competition Bureau; Sam Levine for acting director, Consumer Protection Bureau; and Erie Meyer is the agency’s chief technologist and policy adviser to Khan ... Covington & Burling taps Brian Nester, ex-Sidley Austin, as partner, Patent Litigation Practice; his telecom and chip clients included Intel, Microsoft, Nokia and Samsung.
FTC confirms Chair Lina Khan names three officials, who have been advisers to Commissioner Rohit Chopra, to new posts: Holly Vedova as acting director, Competition Bureau; Sam Levine for acting director, Consumer Protection Bureau; and Erie Meyer is the agency’s chief technologist and policy adviser to Khan ... Covington & Burling taps Brian Nester, ex-Sidley Austin, as partner, Patent Litigation Practice; his telecom and chip clients included Intel, Microsoft, Nokia and Samsung.
While some countries have loosened their more strict foreign investment review tools as they emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of screening regimes are here to stay, Baker McKenzie and the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds said in a June report. The report, which outlines strategies for navigating the new foreign investment landscape, calls the increasing scrutiny of foreign direct investment (FDI) a “global phenomenon.”
The FCC unanimously approved 911 fee diversion rules, as expected (see 2106210022). They largely mirror statutory language in the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act of 2020, and are “reasonably broad given the diverse and evolving nature of the 911 ecosystem.” Rules take effect 60 days after Federal Register publication and fee report data collection compliance takes effect after OMB OK. The commission defined a 911 levy Friday as “a fee or charge applicable to commercial mobile services, IP-enabled voice services, or other emergency communications services specifically designated by a state or taxing jurisdiction for the support or implementation of 911 services.” The definition included multipurpose fees that support “public safety, emergency services, or similar purposes.” Replacement of 911 systems is OK. Diversion is what's used to support a political subdivision or other non-911 related purposes. Examples include “equipment or infrastructure for constructing or expanding non-public safety communications networks” and transferring money to a general fund. States will be held responsible for local jurisdictions that divert fees. The 911 strike force will consider and provide recommendations on what types of radio expenditures constitute diversion. The rules establish a procedure for jurisdictions to petition the Public Safety Bureau for determination an expenditure should be treated as acceptable. The jurisdiction must demonstrate this supports public safety answering point functions or directly affects a PSAP's ability to “receive or respond to 911 calls.” The FCC clarified that “only employees of a diverting jurisdiction” are ineligible to participate on advisory committees. Representatives of non-diverting localities within a diverting state remain eligible. An individual employed by a diverting jurisdiction may still serve on an advisory committee as a representative of a public safety organization or association. The FCC “took a big step towards eliminating the unacceptable practice of 911 fee diversion,” said CTIA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Matt Gerst. The new rules “provide much-needed clarity on what does and does not constitute 911 fee diversion, which is essential as the stakes for diversion are raised with the potential federal NG-911 transition funding,” emailed National Emergency Number Association Director-Government Affairs Dan Henry. “To the extent that edge cases remain in certain states’ fee models, the 911 community will have to be proactive in seeking determinations from the Commission.”
The State Department published its spring 2021 regulatory agenda, including a new mention of an interim final rule that will seek industry feedback on new export controls for critical and emerging technologies (see 2105200061). The State Department said it will ask for comments on the “technology frontier” to help the agency identify “specific technology capabilities” that have evolved enough to warrant revisions to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The agency will use the comments to revise and exclude entries on the U.S. Munitions List and to “add entries for critical and emerging technologies.” The State Department plans to issue the rule in October.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP “NY” rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The U.S. extended the national emergency authorizing sanctions and trade restrictions against North Korea for one year beyond June 26, 2021, the White House said June 21. It said North Korea continues “to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies Executive Director Kim Scovill moves to "a supporting role in iCERT," effective Aug. 1 ... Chamber of Progress names K.J. Bagchi, ex-New America’s Open Technology Institute, as senior director-federal public policy; Montana Williams, ex-Public Knowledge, as director-state and local public policy; and Chris MacKenzie, ex-office of Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Okla., as director-communications ...
Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies Executive Director Kim Scovill moves to "a supporting role in iCERT," effective Aug. 1 ... Chamber of Progress names K.J. Bagchi, ex-New America’s Open Technology Institute, as senior director-federal public policy; Montana Williams, ex-Public Knowledge, as director-state and local public policy; and Chris MacKenzie, ex-office of Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Okla., as director-communications ...