This week’s presentation in Sydney by representatives from the Defence Export Control Office (DECO) served to provide answers to some key questions about the implementation of the US-Australia Defence Trade Controls Treaty that have been put forth by members of the defence industry. Of note were the following comments from DECO representative Patricia Dennis (paraphrased):
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The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is coming to Australia to assess how the Government is tracking with its commitment to combating corruption. Australia was quick to ratify both the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (the Convention) in 1999 and the United Nations Convention Against
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The U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust investigation of the freight forwarding industry has caught some big fish in recent years, and has consequently rattled the global defence industry. Six freight forwarding companies pleaded guilty to criminal price fixing charges in 2010 and have agreed to pay over $50 million USD in criminal fines for their
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The deadline for industry to submit comments on the proposed Defence Trade Controls Regulations was 17 February 2012. International Trade Advisors made a submission outlining our recommendations for additional revisions and guidance that would make becoming an Approved Australian Community Member more attractive to small and medium sized Australian companies. Our submission addressed the following
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Davos, SwitzerlandAt the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Obama administration’s National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security was unveiled to the global trade community. The U.S. is seeking to foster greater international cooperation to protect global supply chains from disruptions caused by natural disasters and terrorism. The strategy proposes to increase information sharing
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The long-awaited exposure draft of the Defence Trade Controls Regulations (2012) were released yesterday for public consultation. Industry has until 17 February to comment on the proposed legislation. The proposed regulations are required to implement the Australia-U.S. Defence Trade Cooperation Treaty, as Australia is obligated to strengthen its controls over defence goods, services and technology
Read more →In December 2011, Customs will void approximately 940 Tariff Advices (TAs), as their classification codes are affected by the 2012 tariff update. Customs will be notifying importers before December 15 with respect of the TAs to be voided. Importers may wish to seek a new Tariff Advice to confirm they can continue to rely on
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In recent years, there had been a global increase in high-profile prosecutions for bribery and corruption around the world. In 2008, Siemens AG paid a fine of over $450 million for violating the U.S.’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) There were several high profile cases in the U.S. in 2011 including: • IBM paid $10million
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On 22 November, the U.S. Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) published the proposed rule to implement the U.S. – Australia Defence Trade Cooperation Treaty. The proposed licensing exemptions for exports of ITAR controlled goods, data and technology have long been anticipated by affected Australian and U.S. companies. Although the exemptions under
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The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is the Australian Government’s highest trade policy priority for 2012. The agreement, which is currently being negotiated by ministers from Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, Peru, the USA, and Malaysia, is intended to create a tariff-free Asia-Pacific, which would account for about 55 per cent of global GDP
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