The Bureau of Industry and Security reduced licensing restrictions for certain exports to Ukraine, Mexico and Cyprus by revising their Country Group designations in the Export Administration Regulations (see 2011230010), according to a final rule released Dec. 23. The rule moves Ukraine from Country Group D to County Group B and adds Mexico and Cyprus in Country Group A:6, making more license exceptions available for each country. The changes take effect Dec. 28.
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) Dec. 23 to add the new military end-user list (see 2012210047), consisting of 103 entities subject to export licensing requirements, the agency said in a Dec. 22 notice. Licenses will be required to export, reexport or transfer certain items described in the EAR that are subject to military end-use (MEU) or end-user licensing requirements. A BIS spokesperson said the 102 cited in the notice is a typo.
The Bureau of Industry and Security removed Hong Kong as a separate destination from China under the Export Administration Regulations (see 2012160010) in response to Hong Kong losing its autonomy from Beijing, BIS said in a Dec. 22 notice. The measures, which take effect Dec. 23, remove provisions that provide Hong Kong “differential and preferential treatment” for exports, reexports or transfers for items subject to the EAR.
The Bureau of Industry and Security plans to officially release the first tranche of its military end-user list (see 2012080046) Dec. 22, naming 103 companies that require licenses to receive certain U.S. exports, reexports or transfers. The first tranche will include 58 Chinese and 45 Russian companies that represent an “unacceptable risk of use in or diversion to” a military end-use or military end-user in China, Russia or Venezuela, the Commerce Department said Dec. 21.
The Bureau of Industry and Security published a set of frequently asked questions to provide industry guidance on its summer update to the foreign direct product rule, which increased restrictions on certain foreign-made items (see 2009170026). The guidance, issued this week, features FAQs that cover how the restrictions apply to companies and products, and how they impact prior exports, manufacturing plants, supply chains, prior licenses and more. BIS also outlined how the restrictions may apply to various scenarios faced by industry, including licensing responsibilities and due diligence requirements.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 77 entities and people to the Entity List, including China’s top chipmaker, to further prevent China and other countries from acquiring sensitive U.S. technologies, the agency said Dec. 18. Along with China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the Entity List additions include China-based DJI, one of the world’s largest drone makers, and companies in Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Malta, Pakistan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
As the U.S. increasingly relies on sanctions, export controls and trade restrictions as foreign policy tools, it should expect China to follow its example, former U.S. government officials said. While other countries are beginning to mimic U.S. trade strategies, the policies are most notably taking hold in China, the officials said, which recently rolled out an export control regime (see 2010190033), has increased threats of sanctions for foreign interference in Hong Kong and Taiwan (see 2012100022 and 2010260017) and issued regulations for its unreliable entity list (see 2009210017).
The Joe Biden administration should expect immediate bipartisan pressure from Congress to tackle human rights issues in China, including calls for potential sanctions and other restrictive measures, said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. Although observers and officials have said they expect Biden to continue many of the current administration’s China trade restrictions (see 2011250054 and 2011250019), Congress will likely call for more actions, Larsen said. “There's not a lot of wiggle room on the role of human rights,” Larsen said during a Dec. 15 online event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And there's not a lot of wiggle room on the issue of technology.”
The Commerce Department published its fall 2020 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including new mentions of rules to amend Hong Kong under the Export Administration Regulations, releases of controlled technologies to standards setting bodies and a range of new technology controls.
The European Union expects to publish a range of export control guidelines in 2021 and will likely use the year to decide whether it will restrict exports of certain facial recognition technologies, EU officials said. Those guidelines and decisions will be released as part of the EU’s new dual-use export control regime (see 2011100021), which officials expect to take effect this coming summer.