After complaining since at least 2005 that "we really need to do something about ITAR. It is really hurting U.S. industry,” and citing export controls for not hiring eligible non-citizens, South African immigrant Elon Musk's company SpaceX has been sued by the Justice Department for employment discrimination. The United States Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) for discriminating against asylees and refugees in its hiring process. The lawsuit contends that from September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX deliberately discouraged such individuals from applying for positions within the company, violating the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

In a sign that more rigorous policies to ensure host country cooperation are bearing fruit, Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced that 33 parties will be removed from the Unverified List, 27 of which are based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with others located in Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.  BIS is taking this action because it was able to establish the bona fides – i.e., legitimacy and reliability relating to the end use or end user of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) – of these parties through the successful completion of end-use checks.

The Bureau of Industry & Security published an advisory opinion on the release of licensed technology to employees of the foreign subsidiary while on temporary work assignment at the home office.  No additional deemed export license is required for these employees, while any new “technology” or “software” that is either “released” to those employees in the United States or created in the United States that is not authorized by the existing BIS license would require a new export license or other authorization from BIS.

The Census Bureau issues this final rule amending its regulations to reflect new export reporting requirements related to the State Department, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) Category XXI Determination Number. Specifically, the Census Bureau is adding a conditional data element, DDTC Category XXI Determination Number, when “21” is selected in the DDTC USML Category Code field in the Automated Export System (AES) to represent United States Munitions List (USML) Category XXI.

With everyone in Washington now holding an opinion on Export Controls, the State Department's Bureau of Political - Military Affairs published a useful one pager.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) of the Education and the Workforce Committee, recently sent a letter to the President and Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. expressing concerns about the University's joint institute with Tsinghua University and the Shenzhen government in China.. The lawmakers pointed out that the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI) provides the People's Republic of China (PRC) with easy access to Berkeley's research and expertise. They emphasized that this access potentially allows the PRC to gain economic, technological, and military advantages.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, a move that signifies progress for the AUKUS security pact. The decision was part of the National Defense Authorization Act, granting Australia a unique 20-year exemption from the stringent export rules of ITAR.

Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing a final rule to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR) to reduce the concentration threshold level above which mixtures containing a Schedule 2A chemical are subject to the declaration requirements.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) oversees the administration of this authority via the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The BIS manages a system that controls the export, re-export, …

The State Department announced that work to manufacture and lay the East Micronesia Cable (EMC) is officially underway.  The EMC Management Committee members have signed the undersea cable contract with NEC Corporation following a competitive tender.

Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has released new frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the Open General License (OGL) Pilot Program. In addition, DDTC has released updated versions of previously published OGL FAQs and related factsheet

Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a $300 million civil penalty on Seagate Technology LLC and its Singapore subsidiary for alleged violations of U.S. export controls related to selling hard disk drives (HDDs) to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. This penalty is the largest standalone administrative penalty in BIS history and includes a multi-year audit requirement and a five-year suspended Denial Order.

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matt Axelrod issued an update to prior guidance on voluntary self-disclosure of possible violations of Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and disclosures about possible EAR violations by others.    The most significant change is that while self-disclosure continues to be considered a mitigating factor, the policy now clarifies that deliberate non-disclosure of significant violations will be considered an aggravating factor, increasing potential penalties.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is soliciting further comment on control measures for automated peptide synthesizers. Peptides and polypeptides are chains of amino acids, and proteins are composed of one or more large chains of polypeptides.   

Despite US sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of US-made semiconductors continue to flow into Russia through circuitous routes, according to reporting in Nikkei Asia.   A large portion of these chips are channeled through small traders in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Microsoft has agreed to pay $3.3 million to settle potential civil liability relating to exporting services or software to comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions and Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) in violation of OFAC's Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Ukraine-/Russia-Related sanctions programs.

An Estonian national has been indicted on eighteen counts related to conspiracy and other charges, including the procurement of sensitive US-made electronics for the Russian government and military. He engaged in this conduct despite being listed on the US Department of Commerce-maintained "Entity List," which designates individuals and companies barred from exporting items from the United States without a license.

The Automated Export System has been modified to report shipments governed by last Fall's Certain Advanced Computing and Semiconductor Manufacturing Items; Supercomputer and Semiconductor End Use Rules.