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Diesel Export Ban Could Backfire; White House Denies Preparing Embargo

The White House’s denial that it is preparing a diesel export ban leaves the proposal a political demand rather than an announced policy. An embargo could briefly lower prices near Gulf Coast refineries but offer limited relief at the pump: reduced refinery output could raise gasoline and jet-fuel costs, while import-dependent West Coast markets face higher international prices.

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– Frank Ruffing, Editor

Export Practitioner Sept. 2026

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BIS Penalties Rise Toward Statutory Maximums Even as Enforcement Volume Falls

A growing share of Bureau of Industry and Security export-control settlements under the Trump administration have approached the maximum penalties allowed by law, according to a Center for Strategic …

Steel-Producing Economies Adopt Milwaukee Framework to Address Excess Capacity

Members of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity adopted a framework for coordinated action on September 30, targeting market-distorting subsidies, trade circumvention and weaknesses in steel …

Busan Extension Signals Possible Further Delay for BIS Affiliates Rule

The reported extension of the U.S.–China Busan trade agreement until January 10, 2027, could prolong the suspension of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Affiliates Rule. Whether the extension covers that rule, however, remains unconfirmed in the official materials reviewed.

U.S. Eases Syria Defense Trade Restrictions; BIS Country-Group Not Yet

The United States has lifted comprehensive economic sanctions on Syria and is easing defense trade restrictions, but export controls remain uneven across agencies. State’s ITAR amendment does not remove Syria from BIS Country Group E:1 or eliminate Syria-specific EAR licensing requirements. Until Commerce acts, businesses must continue to apply those controls alongside targeted Treasury sanctions.

Graham Act in place as U.S. and EU Adjust Pressure on Russians

The Graham Act creates immediate compliance risks beyond companies that trade directly with Russia by authorizing tariffs on all goods from major buyers of Russian energy, codifying much of the existing U.S. sanctions regime, and increasing secondary-sanctions exposure for foreign financial institutions. Treasury’s additional Iran-related designation of VTB Bank compounds that banking risk, while the EU’s removal of Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman—and their continued designation under Latvian and Estonian national sanctions—underscores the need for jurisdiction-specific screening.

State Proposes USML Reductions, “Specially Designed” Changes, and New Repair Exemption

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is scheduled to publish a proposed rule on October 1 that would narrow U.S. Munitions List controls, revise key ITAR definitions, and establish a license exemption for temporary exports of foreign defense articles for servicing and repair.

OFAC’s new Sanctions Penalties Regulations

OFAC’s new Sanctions Penalties Regulations, effective September 25, 2026, consolidate the enforcement procedures and penalty provisions for IEEPA- and UNPA-based sanctions programs in 31 C.F.R. Part 505. Although OFAC describes the rule as non-substantive, it has immediate compliance consequences: entity settlements and civil penalties must be disclosed publicly at least monthly; respondents have 30 days to contest a Pre-Penalty Notice or initial Finding of Violation; and criminal violations now carry an express willfulness standard, while civil liability remains strict.

OFAC Tightens Cuba Payment and Travel Rules, Codifies Sanctions Authorities, and Reorganizes Regulations

OFAC’s latest rules tighten Cuba sanctions by restricting intermediary payments, withdrawing authorization for certain dollar transfers and private-sector bank accounts, and narrowing educational and professional travel permissions. Effective September 30, 2026, the changes require prompt review of payment processing, affected accounts, and planned travel. Separate rules codify existing Iran and Cuba sanctions authorities and consolidate administrative provisions without repealing underlying compliance obligations. OFAC announcement

State Corrects ITAR Rule to Restore University Exemption Conditions and U.S. Government Transfer Exceptions

The State Department has filed correcting amendments to restore provisions inadvertently removed by its September 18 amendments to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The corrections restore three conditions governing universities’ releases of technical data to foreign employees and two exceptions to restrictions on exemption use involving proscribed destinations.

EU Updates Dual-Use Control List

The changes align the EU list with 2025 decisions of the Wassenaar Arrangement, Australia Group and Nuclear Suppliers Group, while incorporating additional commitments accepted by EU Member States to establish uniform controls.

House Democrats Move to Block Saudi Nuclear Deal

House Democrats are moving to block the U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear agreement, arguing that it would give Riyadh a path to uranium enrichment without the inspection safeguards Washington required of the United Arab Emirates. The joint resolution of disapproval faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress, but it puts the agreement’s central proliferation risks—and the administration’s refusal to release two classified side letters—at the center of the statutory review.

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Licensing

Lost Package Exposes Control Risk in MRO Chain

The reported transfer of F-35 components into Chinese custody exposes a control risk in global maintenance, repair, and overhaul networks: sensitive technology remains vulnerable while moving between authorized facilities.

State Revises ITAR Country Policies, Narrows Underwater-Vehicle Controls

The Department of State has issued two ITAR rules scheduled for Federal Register publication on September 18: a final rule revising denial policies and related provisions, and an interim final rule narrowing controls on certain uncrewed underwater vehicles.

DDTC Eases Export Controls on Certain Civil Aircraft Equipped with Missile Defenses

DDTC’s interim final rule should lower compliance costs and ease international operations for qualifying civil aircraft equipped with missile defenses, while improving U.S. maintenance providers’ and equipment suppliers’ competitiveness.

Practitioner Profile: Tim O'Toole

The always cool and ever-original Tim O’Toole, practice lead for Miller & Chevalier Chartered’s export controls and sanctions team, indefatigable compliance educator and host of the Embargoed! Podcast took some time ahead of Independence Day to talk enforcement trends.

People

Andrea Gacki Leaves Record of Pragmatic Enforcement

Andrea Gacki is closing a 25-year career in federal service with an enforcement action that neatly captures her approach: exacting about failures, skeptical of paper compliance and focused on whether financial controls work in practice.

BIS Nominee: Export Controls Must Balance Security and Economics

Abby Warren, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead export administration at the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, told the Senate Banking Committee July 23 that export controls should address significant national-security risks while accounting for their economic impact

Erich Ferrari: 'Sanctions are simple, but they're not easy.'

For businesses and individuals who find themselves on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals list, a few firms stand out that offer hope for redemption. Ferrari & Associates is one of them. With 17 years of experience advising clients on how to get off OFAC’s list or avoid sanctions in the first place, founder Erich Ferrari has racked up wins, bringing more than a few blacklisted entities back to life from the designation known as “civil death.”

Warren Nominated for Commerce Export-Control Post

President Trump sent to the Senate the nomination of Abby Warren, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, the White House announced April 27. The notice did not specify the bureau or portfolio, but Senate/Commerce appointment trackers identify the slot as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, a key Bureau of Industry and Security post.

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Practitioner Profile: Mario Mancuso

Before the semiconductor tensions of the 2020s and the export control reforms of the 2010s, Mario Mancuso led the Bureau of Industry and Security in the final years of the Bush administration — pushing the agency toward greater prominence and deeper national security impact.

Practitioner Profile: Sarah Gerdes

West Coast attorney Sarah Gerdes joined Akin’s international trade practice in Los Angeles at the start of the year as part of its national security & global investigations team after a distinguished tenure in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where she most recently served as the Deputy Chief of the National Security Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney. In conversation with The Export Practitioner, edited for length and clarity below, she shared lessons from her experience leading national security investigations and advice for meeting the current moment in enforcement.

Q&A with Ryan Fayhee

Ryan Fayhee, now a partner at Akin Gump, led the issue with his contribution on extradition in export enforcement cases. The piece urged prosecutors to emphasize the deception rogue exporters and middlemen undertake to thwart U.S. national security restrictions in order to sway foreign counterparts, as well as the proper interpretation of dual-criminality treaties. The article was published near the end of Fayhee’s illustrious 11-year run at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he cut his teeth on cross-border investigations covering espionage, sanctions and embargoes, arms proliferation, trade secret theft, cybercrime, corruption, and money laundering. He capped his tenure in the department’s National Security Division as the government’s principal attorney for sanctions and export control prosecutions. Fayhee granted The Export Practitioner an interview, edited for length and clarity below, to discuss how international collaboration in export controls has evolved, how investigations look from the private sector and his ongoing work to bring people back to the U.S.