BIS Dodging Responsibility by Ending Emerging, Foundational Tech Categories, Lawmaker Says
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, criticized the Bureau of Industry and Security's decision to stop differentiating between emerging and foundational technologies for the purposes of export controls, saying the agency is trying to dodge its statutory responsibility. BIS said last week that the effort to categorize technologies as either emerging or foundational has sometimes delayed the controls, adding that it will instead refer to them as Section 1758 technologies (see 2205200017).
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The move is “a blatant attempt to not live up to their responsibility to follow the 2018 law by identifying foundational technology," McCaul said in a May 25 statement, referencing the Export Control Reform Act. “Now, instead of rolling up their sleeves, they are trying to recharacterize the issue to obscure oversight. This is unacceptable. It is time for BIS to respect Congress and best protect our national security.”
A BIS spokesperson pointed to a statement released by Undersecretary Alan Estevez last week, which said the agency is committed to meeting the requirements of ECRA and "identify and implement appropriate controls on technologies essential to our national security.”