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Tomorrow, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will ease certain US export controls on India, as part of the US commitments under the India–US Joint Statement of June 7, 2016, which recognized the United States and India as Major Defense Partners.  BIS is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to establish a general licensing policy of approval for exports or reexports to or transfers within India of items subject to the EAR and controlled only for National Security (NS) or Regional Stability (RS) reasons.  Items subject to the EAR include items shipped from the United States or items reexported from a third country to India with more than 25% U.S.-origin content.  The NS and RS controls include some of the most sensitive items on the control list, which underscores the significance of this development from both a national security and a commercial perspective.  It is important to note that licensing requirements generally still apply to these exports and reexports to India, but now BIS will be generally inclined towards granting these license requests, which should open up a significant new market for companies operating in these sectors. 
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On October 31, 2016, the US Department of Defense published a proposed rule titled Withholding of Unclassified Technical Data and Technology from the Public Disclosure.  Public comments on the rule are due December 30, 2016.  Essentially, the proposed rule sets forth procedures already incorporated in pre-existing DOD directives regarding the dissemination and withholding of…

On October 31, 2016, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a proposed rule entitled, Withholding of Unclassified Technical Data and Technology from the Public Disclosure.  Public comments must be submitted by December 30, 2016.

The proposed rule establishes DoD policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures for the circulation and withholding of certain unclassified technical…

As Steptoe previously reported, May 2016 the DoD published updates to the National Industrial Security Operating Manual (“NISPOM,” Change 2 to DoD 5220.22-M) and an accompanying Industrial Security Letter requiring government contractors holding a facility security clearance (“FCL”) to establish or maintain a written policy by November 30, 2016 to detect, deter, and…

On June 3, 2016 the Department of Commerce issued a final rule, and the Department of State issued an interim final rule, making changes to key definitions in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The rules update the definitions of “export,” “reexport,” “release,” and “retransfer” under both the…

On May 16, 2016, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended to add a new subpart and contract clause for the basic safeguarding of contractor information systems that process, store or transmit Federal contract information.  The clause does not relieve contractors of any other specific safeguarding requirement specified by Federal agencies and departments as it…

On March 1, 2016, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce published a final rule that adopted, without change, its December 2, 2015 proposed rule expanding the requirements to report offsets in defense sales agreements.

Effective March 31, 2016, companies must report certain offsets in the sale of items controlled in “600 series” Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) on the Commerce Control List (CCL), except for certain submersible and semi-submersible cargo transport vessels and related equipment, software, and technology controlled in ECCN 8A620.b, 8B620.b, 8D620.b, and 8E620.b.Continue Reading BIS Issues Final Rule Expanding Offset Reporting to Include Sales of ‘600 Series’ Items