BIS to 'Soon' Issue New Set of Emerging, Foundational Tech Controls, Official Says
BIS is preparing to “soon” issue another set of export controls that will cover both emerging and foundational technologies, said Matt Borman, the Bureau of Industry and Security’s deputy assistant secretary of export administration. The controls, briefly mentioned by a senior BIS official last month (see 2201280045), would represent the first set of formal export restrictions over foundational technologies since Congress passed the Export Control Reform Act in 2018.
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Borman, speaking during a Feb. 9 event hosted by Content Enablers, said the rule is “working its way through the clearance process.” He stressed that the agency will look to make sure those controls are imposed multilaterally alongside allies, including members of the Wassenaar Arrangement. He didn’t say what technologies the rule will cover.
Borman also said BIS doesn’t plan to issue an exhaustive list or rule covering all emerging or foundational technologies, despite urging from some lawmakers and industry observers to issue a comprehensive technology list (see 2106160012 and 2201210033). BIS has said such a list wouldn’t make sense because technologies are constantly evolving. “Technology is always emerging,” Borman said, “and so we are always looking at specific slices of emerging technology to assess whether it has a national security significance that warrants more restrictive treatment.”
Borman said, however, that BIS may use the White House’s recently updated list of critical and emerging technology categories to aid its control effort (see 2202090016). “We're always looking to leverage work that's already been done in other work streams within the U.S. government,” Borman said. But he also said the identification of broad categories of technologies, such as artificial intelligence, may not be particularly helpful for BIS, which is trying to restrict more narrow slices of technologies. The agency, for instance, is hoping to propose a control at Wassenaar for certain geospatial imagery software, which is a type of AI software (see 2201050027).
Borman said BIS is continuing to identify additional emerging and foundational technology controls through its usual information sources, including technical advisory committees, other government agencies and open-source information. “That process has been in place for some time and continues,” he said.
The agency also plans to revise its recently issued rule that imposes new export controls and a new license exception for certain cybersecurity items (see 2110200036), Borman said. BIS last month postponed the rule’s effective date from January to March (see 2201110025) after receiving requests from industry. Although changes will be made, Borman suggested they will be minor. “We will do a somewhat revised version of the rule, not in any major way, that addresses some of the public comments we've received,” he said.