The Daily Bugle Weekly Highlights: Week 30 (20 – 24 July 2020)

Every Monday we post the highlights out of last week’s FCC Export/Import Daily Update (“The Daily Bugle”). Send out every business day to approximately 8,500 readers of changes to defense and high-tech trade laws and regulations, The Daily Bugle is a free daily newsletter from Full Circle Compliance, edited by James E. Bartlett III, Salvatore Di Misa, and Elina Tsapouri.

We check the following sources daily: Federal Register, Congressional Record, Commerce/AES, Commerce/BIS, DHS/CBP, DOE/NRC, DOJ/ATF, DoD/DSS, DoD/DTSA, FAR/DFARS, State/DDTC, Treasury/OFAC, White House, and similar websites of Australia, Canada, U.K., and other countries and international organizations.  Due to space limitations, we do not post Arms Sales notifications, Denied Party listings, or Customs AD/CVD items. To subscribe, click here.

Last week’s highlights of The Daily Bugle included in this edition are:

1. State/DDTC: Addition of DS-6004 “Other” Type; Monday, 20 July 2020; Item #4
2. Treasury/OFAC: “Issuance of Executive Order 13936 ‘The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization’ “; Tuesday, 21 July 2020; Item #7
3. State Department: “International Traffic in Arms Regulations — Central African Republic”; Wednesday, 22 July 2020; Item #4
4. State/DDTC: General Announcements; Thursday, 23 July 2020; Item #5
5. UK DIT: “Notice to Exporters 2020/12 – the Extension of the China Arms Embargo to Hong Kong”; Thursday, 23 July 2020; Item #7

 

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State/DDTC: Addition of DS-6004 “Other” Type

(Source: DDTC)

 

  On June 15, 2020, DDTC added an “Other” category to Block 4 of the DS-6004 Reexport/Retransfer Application – ITAR Part 123.9.  Industry should select the “Other” category when submitting  General Correspondence (GC) requests related to Mergers and Acquisitions, U.S. and Foreign Entity Name/Address Changes or Registration Code Changes, U.S. Persons providing defense services abroad, End-Use/End-User Change Requests, and Amendments to existing General Correspondence approvals.

  DDTC will continue to accept paper submissions for these requests.  However, be advised that extended processing times may apply to paper submissions.  If you choose to mail in your application, please be sure to provide an email address in the transmittal letter so that DDTC can email its response to your application.

 

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Treasury/OFAC: “Issuance of Executive Order 13936 ‘The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization’ “

(Source: Treasury/OFAC, 20 Jul 2020)

 

   Last week, the President issued new Executive Order 13936, “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization.”

   For more information on today’s action, please visit this page.

 

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State Department: “International Traffic in Arms Regulations — Central African Republic”

(Source: Federal Register, 22 Jul 2020) [Excerpts]

 

85 FR 44188: Rule

* AGENCY: Department of State.

* ACTION: Final rule.

* SUMMARY: The Department of State is amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to reflect recently adopted United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) concerning the Central African Republic.

* DATES: The rule is effective on July 22, 2020.

* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Engda Wubneh, Foreign Affairs Officer, Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy, U.S. Department of State, telephone (202) 663-1809, or email DDTCResponseTeam@state.gov. ATTN: Regulatory Change, ITAR Section 126.1 Central African Republic Update 2020.

 

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State/DDTC: General Announcements

(Source: State/DDTC, 23 Jul 2020)

 

Additional Measures: DDTC Response to SARS-COV2

   In response to the national emergency President Trump declared on March 13, 2020, as a result of the SARS-COV2 pandemic, the Department of State has taken a number of steps to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on U.S. companies and supply chains overseas. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is announcing two new measures aimed at facilitating telework and electronic communication. Each will be the subject of a future notice on this webpage.

Continuation of Temporary Modifications, Suspensions, and Exceptions to the ITAR for Telework due to SARS-COV2: The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Trade Controls has ordered an extension until December 31, 2020, of the temporary modifications, suspensions, and exceptions to the ITAR to allow continued telework operations during the current SARS-COV2 public health emergency. These actions are taken pursuant to ITAR §§ 126.2 and 126.3 and are in the interest of the U.S. Government and the security and foreign policy of the United States and will help to ensure continuity of operations within DDTC and among members of the regulated community. The temporary modifications, suspensions, and exceptions were originally described in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Federal Register notice 85 FR 25287, May 1, 2020. DDTC is not extending the other temporary modifications, suspensions, and exceptions related to registration and licensing that were described in that notice. Additional information regarding these actions will be published in the future in the Federal Register.

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestiture Notifications and FAQs: DDTC will begin accepting submissions of notifications of changes to registrations resulting from Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures via DDTC’s DECCS electronic portal. In addition, DDTC will be updating its Registration FAQs page to include a new subheading titled ‘Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures’ that will include new questions and answers to aid registrants in submission of registration-related notifications.

 

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UK DIT: “Notice to Exporters 2020/12 – the Extension of the China Arms Embargo to Hong Kong”

(Source: UK Dept for International Trade, 22 Jul 2020)

 

  Open general licences that include Hong Kong will be changed or amended to bring them in line with restrictions on China from 20 July 2020.

   The Foreign Secretary’s statement to Parliament of 20 July that, given the role China has now assumed for the internal security of Hong Kong and the authority it is exerting over law enforcement, the UK will extend to Hong Kong the arms embargo that we have applied to mainland China since 1989 and re-stated on 3 June 1998. This means that open general licences that include Hong Kong will be changed or amended to bring them in line with restrictions on China.