U.S. export controls

A proposed $1.8 billion sale of U.S.-origin air defense systems is expected to open a pathway to increased exports to the South Asian economy.

The Commerce Department wants to tighten the licensable requirement for exports containing U.S. semiconductor components to 10% for the Chinese telecom.

The department said the shift of certain firearms from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List does not decontrol these items but changes the level of export control oversight.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security will expand export licensing requirements for technologies intended for military applications.

False submission of shipment information in the U.S. government’s Automated Export System helps sink scheme to smuggle military-style inflatable boats and engines to China, according to officials.

The U.S. Justice Department said Peter Sotis, former owner of Florida-based Add Helium, is accused of smuggling rebreather equipment without an export license to the war-torn country.

The Trump administration said it is taking this latest regulatory action to further restrict the Cuban government’s efforts to support Venezuela’s Maduro regime.

The Hong Kong Human Right Rights and Democracy Act, which unanimously passed the House of Representatives on Oct. 15, puts pressure on Hong Kong to uphold U.S. export controls.

The Commerce Department said the Chinese government and commercial entities added to the export control list participated in human rights violations against China’s Muslim ethnic minorities.

The BIS Office of Export Enforcement has “revealed schemes” by Pakistani entities attempting to acquire U.S. technologies to support the country’s nuclear program.