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 7,500 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, and Alexander Witt.
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Last week’s highlights of The Daily Bugle included in this edition are:
- Justice: “U.S. Navy Officer, His Wife, and Two Chinese Nationals Charged with Conspiring to Smuggle Military Style Inflatable Boats and Evinrude Military Outboard Motors to China”; The Daily Bugle; Monday, 4 November 2019, Item #5;
- Treasury/OFAC Issues of Amended and New Venezuela-related General Licenses and FAQs; and Revokes Syria-related General Licenses; The Daily Bugle; Wednesday, 6 November 2019, Item #5;
- EU Commission Publishes Report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 428/2009; The Daily Bugle; Wednesday, 6 November 2019, Item #7;
- Treasury/OFAC Posts Settlement Agreement with Apollo Aviation for $210,600 for Violations of Sudanese Sanctions Regulations; The Daily Bugle; Thursday, 8 November 2019, Item #5;
- Justice/ATF Corrects April 2019 Amendment Concerning the Commerce in Firearms and Ammunition; The Daily Bugle; Friday, 9 November 2019, Item #1;
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1. Justice: “U.S. Navy Officer, His Wife, and Two Chinese Nationals Charged with Conspiring to Smuggle Military Style Inflatable Boats and Evinrude Military Outboard Motors to China”
(Source: Justice, 4 Nov 2019.)
Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida announces the return of an indictment today of four individuals, including two Chinese nationals, an active-duty United States Navy officer, and his wife, on charges relating to a conspiracy to unlawfully smuggle military-style inflatable boats, with Evinrude MFE military outboard motors, to the People’s Republic of China. The Navy officer and two other defendants have also been charged with conspiring to violate firearms law, and the Navy officer has been charged with an additional firearms-related offense and with making false official statements. …
All four defendants have been charged with conspiring to submit false export information and to fraudulently attempt to export articles from the United States. Additionally, Yang Yang, Ge Songtao, and Zheng Yan have been charged with causing the submission of false and misleading information into the U.S. Automated Export System, and fraudulently attempting to export seven vessels and eight engines. If convicted for conspiracy or for the submission of false export information, the charged defendants each face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. If convicted on the attempted-smuggling charge, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. …
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2. Treasury/OFAC Issues of Amended and New Venezuela-related General Licenses and FAQs; and Revokes Syria-related General Licenses
(Source: Treasury/OFAC, 5 Nov 2019.)
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is issuing amended Venezuela-related General License 34A “Authorizing Transactions Involving Certain Government of Venezuela Persons” and new Venezuela-related General License 35
“Authorizing Certain Administrative Transactions with the Government of Venezuela.” In conjunction with these general licenses, OFAC is publishing new and amended Frequently Asked Questions.
In addition, OFAC has revoked Syria-related General License 2 “Authorizing Certain Activities Necessary to the Wind Down of Operations or Existing Contracts Involving the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Government of Turkey” and Syria-related General License 3 “Authorizing Official Activities of Certain International Organizations Involving the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Government of Turkey.” These general licenses are being revoked in connection with OFAC’s October 23, 2019 removal of three individuals and two entities from the SDN List.
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3. EU Commission Publishes Report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 428/2009
(Source: European Commission, 5 Nov 2019.)
The European Commission publishes its REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items, including a report on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 599/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items.
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4. Treasury/OFAC Posts Settlement Agreement with Apollo Aviation for $210,600 for Violations of Sudanese Sanctions Regulations
(Source: Treasury/OFAC, 7 Nov 2019.)
Summary: The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced a $210,600 settlement with Apollo Aviation Group, LLC (“Apollo,” now d/b/a Carlyle Aviation Partners Ltd.). Apollo, a U.S. company organized and headquartered in Florida, has agreed to settle its potential civil liability for 12 apparent violations of the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 538.
Specifically, Apollo appears to have violated §§ 538.201 and 538.205 when it leased three aircraft engines to an entity incorporated in the United Arab Emirates, which then subleased the engines to a Ukrainian airline, which then installed the engines on an aircraft wet leased to Sudan Airways (“Sudan Air”). At the time of the transactions, Sudan Air was identified on OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons as meeting the definition of “Government of Sudan.”
See the notice HERE.
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5. Justice/ATF Corrects April 2019 Amendment Concerning the Commerce in Firearms and Ammunition
(Source: Federal Register, 8 Nov 2019.) [Excerpts.]
84 FR 60333-60334: Removal of Expired Regulations Concerning Commerce in Firearms and Ammunition; Correction
* AGENCY: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of Justice.
* ACTION: Final rule.
* SUMMARY: On April 1, 2019, the Department of Justice published in the Federal Register a final rule making technical changes to remove expired, obsolete, or unnecessary regulations; correct specific headings; and reflect changes to nomenclature in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives regulations related to the commerce in firearms and ammunition. That document inadvertently included an incomplete revision to remove all words related to an expired regulation. This final rule corrects the April 2019 amendment by revising the section to complete the removal of the expired regulation.
* DATES: This rule is effective November 8, 2019.
* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shermaine Kenner, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Programs and Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Department of Justice, 99 New York Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20226; telephone: (202) 648-7070 (this is not a toll-free number).
* SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: …
- Background
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) administers regulations published in title 27, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 478, concerning commerce in firearms and ammunition. On April 1, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published in the Federal Register a final rule that made technical amendments in ATF regulations in the CFR (84 FR 12093). The technical changes made in this rule included the removal of expired regulations and regulations that are no longer applicable; the correction of section headings for accuracy; and a change in nomenclature resulting from the transfer of ATF to the Department of Justice from the Department of the Treasury pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
Several sections were removed or amended because the statute that formed the basis of those regulations is no longer in effect. The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Act (the Act), enacted as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Pub. L. 103-322, Title XI (1994), established a 10-year prohibition on the manufacture, transfer, or possession of “semiautomatic assault weapons,” as defined in the Act, as well as large capacity feeding devices. The Act expired on September 13, 2004, and the final rule was issued to remove or amend the regulatory provisions that had, in whole or in part, implemented that Act as they are no longer effective.
The April 2019 technical amendments inadvertently failed to remove all words related to the expired regulation that were included in 27 CFR 478.171. This final rule corrects the changes in the CFR made by the 2019 technical amendments by amending Sec. 478.171 to remove “and manufactured after September 13, 1994, ” and “or were” in the last sentence of the paragraph and to add “was” before “exported” in the last sentence of the paragraph. …
This rule makes technical corrections to eliminate outdated and incorrect terminology and improve the clarity of the regulations, and makes no substantive changes. The Department has determined that this final rule is not a “significant regulatory action” as defined in Executive Order 12866, section 3(f). Accordingly, this final rule has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
Finally, because this rule is not a significant regulatory action, it is not subject to the requirements of Executive Order 13771. There are no costs associated with this regulation; however, it benefits the industry in that it removes outdated regulations and provides clarity for the regulated industry. Because there are no costs associated with this final rule, there are no monetized benefits. This rule is considered a deregulatory action under Executive Order 13771. …