Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) refers to software that is released with a license that grants users the freedom to use, modify, and distribute the software. FOSS provides numerous benefits for developers, including collaborative development, flexibility, and the ability to leverage existing solutions. However, it also requires careful license compliance, intellectual property considerations, security awareness, community evaluation, integration management and as you will come to understand, unique Trade Control challenges.

The State Department has published an interim measure to streamline defense trade of U.S. origin items while the administration pursues legislative changes. The AUKUS pact, a defense agreement among Australia, the United States, and Britain, was signed in 2021 and involves $368 billion worth of investments.

OFAC has released the first episode of its “Introduction to OFAC” web series, a series of short videos created to provide viewers with a high-level introduction on the fundamentals of OFAC and sanctions implementation. The first episode introduces viewers to OFAC and its place within the U.S. government, as well as its history, mission, and relationship with the public. 

The Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) announced their approval of a 400 million dollar credit guarantee for the trading book of a Swiss commodity trader. Financial Institution Buyer Credit (FIBC) policies backstop credit lines for Geneva – based Trafigura to broker natural gas purchases from the US “primarily to European Buyers,” according to the EXIM announcement.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the U.S. National Intelligence Director (ODNI) have declared the fulfillment of their commitments under President Joe Biden's Executive Order (EO) 14086 regarding the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Since 2020, when the European Court of Justice nullified the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement due to concerns about U.S. government surveillance activities, the U.S. and the EU have been on a quest to establish a new data flow mechanism. This decision unsettled transatlantic data transfers and necessitated a resolution that would ensure enhanced privacy and data protection for EU data subjects. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a press statement that the DOJ's designation of EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, as "qualifying states." These designations allow citizens of these nations to seek redress through the proposed Data Protection Review Court, offering enhanced U.S. privacy protections in the process.

The operating practice of trade compliance is bifurcated into customer due diligence (CDD) and managing import and export controls.   CDD involves vetting customers and suppliers using …

A year ago, a breakthrough was expected in the U.S.-Cuba economic relationship when the Biden administration approved the first OFAC license allowing direct investment in and direct financing to a privately-owned Cuban company. However, no funds have been delivered, due to a lack of regulatory framework by the Cuban government, and conviction in Washington is lacking.