Reuters reports the Commerce Department is considering a new regulatory push to restrict the export of proprietary or closed source AI models There are currently no restrictions on the sale of AI models to foreign adversaries, presenting a potential national security risk.

OFAC announced it has removed Russo-Maltese executive jet operator Emperor Aviation and its fleet from the list of Specially Designated Nationals.   No explanation was provided for the change. The company and aircraft had been added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list for conducting travel for the family of Suleiman Kerimov.

The Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee (ETTAC) will meet on May 23 and 24, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.-3:00 …The Committee’s primary focus is the identification of emerging and foundational technologies that may be developed over a period of five to ten years with potential dual-use applications as early as possible in their developmental stages both within the United States and abroad, and any other matters relating to actions designed to carry out the policy set forth in Section 1752(1)(A) of the Export Control Reform Act. The purpose of the meeting is to have Committee members and U.S. Government representatives mutually review updated technical data and policy-driving information that has been gathered.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is issuing an interim final rule to amend the Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations (RPPR), to require electronic filing of certain submissions to OFAC and to describe and modify certain reporting requirements related to blocked property and rejected transactions.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID) sent a letter to President Biden urging him to reject a proposal to waive U.S. sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in order to allow a French-owned company, Électricité de France (EDF), to engage in civil nuclear projects with Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company.

The Financial Times reports the Biden administration has revoked export licences that allow Intel and Qualcomm to supply Huawei with semiconductors as Washington increases the pressure on the Chinese telecoms equipment company.

Controlling intangible transfers of technology (ITT) and software—including in the context of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)—is a known challenge, but the growth of the …

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to the Department of Defense (DoD), following a "deeply troubling" Wall Street Journal investigation revealing that Starlink, a satellite-internet service and subsidiary of DoD contractor SpaceX, is being used by Russia and other sanctioned U.S. adversaries, and concerns that the company has not taken appropriate action to stop this illicit activity.

FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki delivered the keynote at the SIFMA/AML conference in New York this week, highlighting the contribution of her team's efforts, as well as coming milestones.

Commissioners from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) penned a letter to Secretarty of State Anthony Blinken asking the State Department to utilize existing rewards programs to seek information that will “deter and disrupt the market for illegally procured organs…and hold accountable those responsible for the gruesome practice” of forced organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

OFAC has deployed its new Sanctions List Service (SLS).  SLS is now the primary application OFAC will use to deliver sanctions list files and data to the public. OFAC's Sanctions List …

The April 19 IFR loosening license requirements for dual-use trade is corrected to include only portions of those firearms ECCNs previously controlled for national security column 1 (NS1) or regional stability column 1 (RS1) reasons for control for the destinations of Australia and the United Kingdom will continue to require a license. The revised proposed rule conforms with the existing treatment of Canada.

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is issuing a white paper providing general findings from visiting various universities and research centers that are engaged in activities of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations from 2020 to early 2024.  The paper provides general compliance commendations, including “best practices” and recommendations that the Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance provided to the universities following each visit.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS released final rules on the clean vehicle provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. The rules update  taxpayer and vehicle eligibility for the credit for new clean vehicles and the previously-owned clean vehicle credit. The rules also address the critical minerals and battery components requirements and Foreign Entity of Concern (or “excluded entity”) restriction that were added to the clean vehicle credit by the IRA.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim delivered remarks at the Department of Justice on April 29, 2024, marking the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resources Working Group.

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control last week, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson Before the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control directed lawmakers attention to Chinese money laundering organizations (CMLOs). CMLOs offer several advantages for illicit actors. These money launderers are insular, decentralized, and rely on interpersonal relationships among the Chinese diaspora to conduct business, making them difficult for law enforcement to penetrate.

Bipartisan legislation (HR 8187) introduced last week would improve transparency in the current battery supply chain by creating an Energy Department program to support the development, implementation and adoption of digital identification systems.

The US Export-Import Bank signed two new Memoranda of Understanding yesterday, one with Nigeria and the other with Mastercard. The Nigerian MOU is "to encourage collaboration and identify projects that enhance economic prosperity between Nigeria and the United States,"according to EXIM.  The Mastercard MoU is "to encourage collaboration opportunities in support of small businesses."

Responding to reports the company has secretly funded research at US universities through an independent foundation, new chairman of the House Select Committee on China Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich) is taking aim at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. The research funding is a way for China to steal US innovations, the chairman said.  The Administration should suspend all export licenses to Huawei and consider other steps such as placing the company on the Specifically Designated National list, he stated.

The Justice Depaertment's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will be submitting for review and approval revisions to the form filed for approval to permanently export NFA firearms registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record