House Republican national security leadership called for the White House to expand license-free defense trade among the U.S., U.K., and Australia to ensure the success of AUKUS Pillar Two and …

The Department of Commerce has expanded the Validated End User (VEU) program with additional controls for data center items destined for China and India. Data Center VEU adopts much of the framework of the existing VEU program, with additional requirements. This expansion of eligibility is intended to update the VEU program to recognize the advancement and benefits of artificial intelligence.

In response to requests from the public, The Departments of State and Commerce extended the comment period for their rule changes proposed 29 July impacting ITAR definitions of "defense services," and EAR restrictions on end user and Commerce Control List-based controls. Comments are now due by 15 October.

AUKUS Defense ministers met in London Thursday to review the partnership and "reiterate their shared commitments for the decades to come," according to a readout of the conference.  

The Chairs of the House China and Education Committees raised concerns that decades of federally funded research has benefited the defense and security establishments of the PRC.  

In a statement to mark the third anniversary of AUKUS, the leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, reaffirmed their commitment to this historic partnership and acknowledged progress to date.   

The governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States met as the “Export Enforcement Five” (E5) in their second annual conference in Washington, D.C. The group's statement noted their efforts to prevent the diversion of sensitive technologies and materials that support Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Among the China Week Legislation, the House of Representatives passed a bill amending the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA) to include trade secret protections. If enacted, this would expand regulatory authority over information not currently covered by U.S. export control laws. As a result, U.S. companies may need government approval before disclosing trade secrets, even in non-traditional export transactions, and may face stricter requirements for safeguarding such information.

The UAE's ambition to become a world leader in artificial intelligence, funded and endorsed by both Chinese and US tech interests, are constrained by  Washington's export controls, according to one of the effort's principal American sponsors. “We all need clarity and consistency from the US government in terms of the specifics of the export control regime," Brad Smith, President of Microsoft told the Financial Times.

The U.S. Department of Defense and Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) participated in the third India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) Summit in Silicon Valley, California on Monday, …

BIS has recently updated its Guidelines for Preparing Export License Applications Involving Foreign Persons (Deemed Exports/Reexports). Deemed exports are most often encountered in the employment context however, this guidance also addresses license submission requirements related to releases of controlled “technology” and “source code” to foreign persons in other contexts, such as foreign students participating in collaborative research when there are restrictions on publication or foreign students participating in curricular practical training (CPT) or optional practical training (OPT).

The Commerce Department should adopt a blanket “presumption of denial” posture for export license applications that would send critical technology to any entity based in China, according to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla). Commerce should impose the strict controls because of the demonstrably high risk that such applications are intended to circumvent export controls, the senator said.

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is implementing export controls on several semiconductor, quantum, and additive manufacturing items with an interim final rule published September 6th.   The rule adds and revises Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) in the Commerce Control List, adds a new license exception for countries that have implemented equivalent technical controls, and adds two new worldwide license requirements to the national security and regional stability controls in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The new controls include a limited number of deemed export requirements in the sectors of quantum computers, materials, and related electronic assemblies; aerospace technology; and integrated circuit “development” or “production.”

RTX Corporation, the defense contracting roll-up formerly known as Raytheon, has entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of State following a comprehensive investigation into violations of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). By paying $100 million in fines and promising to spend another $100 million on compliance programs, the firm avoids debarment and further criminal or civil action.

Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is requesting comments on the administration of Form DS-2032 Statement of Registration;

The U.K. governemnt has published a Licence allowing the export of dual-use items or military goods software or technology and trade of military goods, to, between and among Australia, the USA and the UK, in furtherance of the AUKUS Treaty. This open general licence (OGL) permits, subject to certain conditions, the export of dual-use items or military goods software or technology and trade of military goods, to, between and among Australia, the US and the UK. This includes re-exporting goods, software or technology to and from permitted destinations, even if they have been incorporated into other products.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is taking action to further restrict the supply of both U.S.-origin and “U.S. branded” (i.e., labeled) items to Russia and Belarus for the Kremlin’s war efforts. BIS has imposed controls on a range of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that did not previously require export licenses when destined for Russia.  Also imposed are similarly stringent controls on items subject to the EAR that are destined for Belarus.  Notably, both countries have been made subject to broad in-country transfer controls.

The State Department announced Thursday that the United States, United Kingdom and Australia have removed barriers to defense trade as part of their trilateral partnership. State advised Congress that the Australia and United Kingdom export control systems are comparable to those of the United States and have implemented a reciprocal export exemption for US entities.

On August 15, 2024, the DDTC published a final rule to amend International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) section 120.54 to expand the definition of “activities that are not exports, reexports, retransfers, or temporary imports,” subject to certain conditions, titling the language "The Sovereign Deployments Rule"

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Export Enforcement has published new resources for the academic community: a compliance note on voluntary self-disclosure trends and a compendium of export compliance resources. The compliance note, Trends in Voluntary Self-Disclosures Related to Academia to Inform Improvements to Export Compliance Plans, details conduct commonly disclosed by academic institutions over the past ten years that constitutes export control violations. The Compendium of Resources offers a comprehensive guide to export compliance tools, including informational and vetting resources, BIS-specific resources, and examples of recent enforcement actions