The State Department is considering an open general-license concept for certain defense exports, which would allow U.S. exporters to ship to certain U.S. trading partners without having to apply for a specific license, a senior agency official said. The concept would likely begin as a pilot program, said Mike Miller, deputy assistant secretary for defense trade in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, but it's still being discussed and there isn’t yet a timetable for release.

The State Department extended a September 2020 rule that temporarily suspended restrictions on certain defense exports to Cyprus because it has proven to be “in the national security interest” of the U.S., the agency said in a notice released Sept. 29. The rule (see 2009020045) amended the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to relax restrictions surrounding exports of nonlethal defense goods and services to Cyprus, and also eased restrictions on reexports, retransfers and temporary imports. The agency had been considering extending the rule for several months and was monitoring whether it was helping U.S. exporters (see 2010220049). The extended rule, effective Sept. 30, will now last through Sept. 30, 2022.

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The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined two Texas companies -- both subsidiaries of Netherlands-based oilfield services company ​Schlumberger Ltd. -- for violating U.S. sanctions against Russia and Sudan, OFAC said Sept. 27. The agency fined oil and gas service provider Cameron International Corp. more than $1.4 million for illegally providing services for a Russian Arctic offshore oil project and fined gas product provider Schlumberger Rod Lift, Inc. $160,000 for helping to illegally facilitate shipments to Sudan. OFAC said neither company voluntarily self-disclosed its violations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a Texas semiconductor component manufacturer nearly $500,000 for illegally exporting controlled wafers to Russia via Bulgaria (see 2012210013), the agency said in a Sept. 28 order. The company, Silicon Space Technology Corporation, which began doing business as Vorago Technologies in 2015, worked with a Russian engineering firm to export “rad-hard 16MB Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) wafers,” which were controlled under the Export Administration Regulations for spacecraft and related components.

The U.S. plans to prioritize discussions on export controls and investment screening tools during the first meeting of the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council this week (see 2109130025), senior administration officials said. The two sides plan to release a set of shared trade and technology commitments after the Sept. 29 meeting in Pittsburgh, which should hint at closer collaboration on various trade restrictions, one official said, particularly involving semiconductors.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two general licenses aimed at allowing humanitarian assistance and aid to more easily flow to Afghanistan amid the Taliban takeover of the country’s government. The agency, which also published new guidance for using the licenses, said Sept. 24 it’s “committed to ensuring that U.S. sanctions do not limit the ability” of the Afghan people to receive aid from the U.S. government and the international community.

Although the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. allowed Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. to refile its proposed acquisition by Beijing-based Wise Road Capital (see 2109160037), the deal seems highly unlikely to pass CFIUS scrutiny, trade lawyers said. Finding pathways to mitigate the national security risks identified by CFIUS will be extremely challenging, they said, particularly as the U.S. increases its focus on stopping China from acquiring advanced semiconductor equipment.

Although President Joe Biden’s new executive order authorizing sanctions against Ethiopia (see 2109170036) allows for a potentially broad scope of designations, it also signals that the administration will take a slow, cautious approach to its new authorities, law firms said. Companies shouldn’t expect immediate U.S. action against Ethiopia, the firms said, as the administration seems primarily concerned about deterring bad behavior and assuring humanitarian access can still flow to the region.

CBP is preparing to issue several notices to extend or update its export-related filing regulations, including two involving electronic export manifest, said Jim Swanson, CBP’s director of the Cargo and Security Controls Division. Swanson, speaking during a Sept. 21 National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones conference, said the agency will soon extend its electronic export manifest pilot program and plans to change regulations to allow CBP to better trace and receive data on exports.