The U.S. needs to pour more resources into research and innovation of emerging technologies to boost commercialization and outpace Chinese technology development, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said. Blackburn advocated for a methodical decoupling from China, saying the U.S. needs to reshore manufacturing of critical technologies to help U.S. industries be more competitive in foreign markets.
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.
U.S. export controls are set to become more of a factor at universities worldwide as U.S.-China technology competition accelerates, forcing academic institutions to adjust to an expanding basket of regulations and compliance standards, a Hinrich Foundation report said. Colleges, which already struggle with insufficient government export control guidance (see 2005120053), need to be prepared for increased controls on software and networks, placement of foreign universities on blacklists and bans on certain foreign funding, the report said.
A State Department spokesperson criticized accusations levied this week by House and Senate Democratic leaders over the administration’s 2019 emergency military sales to Gulf states, saying the agency has been transparent during a congressional probe of the sales. Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D.-N.J., subpoenaed four State Department officials Aug. 3 over what they say was an improper use of emergency powers to expedite arms sales (see 2008030046), adding that the agency was “stonewalling” their investigation.
Democratic and Republican senators called on the State Department to do more to pressure the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela, saying the U.S.’s approach, which they called ineffective, should include more multilateral support and stronger sanctions against Maduro’s allies. Several senators said they would back legislation to grant the administration more sanctions powers.
The U.S. will boost restrictions on software companies connected to China, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, adding that the administration is focused on increasing penalties on businesses associated with human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. Pompeo said the companies’ use of facial recognition and artificial intelligence software -- two areas the Commerce Department is reviewing for stricter export controls (see 2007220050) -- aids the Chinese military and helps to suppress Muslim minority groups.
The U.S. on July 31 sanctioned a Chinese state-controlled organization and two Chinese officials for human rights violations in Xinjiang. The sanctions target the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, former XPCC Party Secretary Sun Jinlong and XPCC Deputy Party Secretary Peng Jiarui.
The U.S. is working on more measures to dissuade companies from doing business in China, administration officials said, including through financial incentives and more industry outreach about enforcement risks. Commerce Department official Nazak Nikakhtar and State Department official Keith Krach also said the administration is working to collaborate more with trading partners against China.
The U.S. should impose stricter export controls on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to prevent China from indigenizing semiconductor technologies, technology policy experts said. If the U.S. and allies successfully block China from importing and developing specialized software and advanced chips, they should then impose end-use and end-user controls to allow shipments only for civilian uses in China, the experts said.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is considering permanently revising the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to allow industry employees involved in ITAR-related activities to work remotely, DDTC said in a notice released July 28. DDTC also said that in response to industry requests it will extend temporary telework measures, which had been set to expire July 31, through Dec. 31 (see 2007230033). The agency said it will use that time to “fully investigate the possibility and ramifications of making this modification, or a variation thereof, a permanent revision,” and may seek comments on the change.
A Pennsylvania cookware coating manufacturer was fined about $824,000 after its foreign subsidiaries violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a July 28 notice. OFAC said Whitford Worldwide Company subsidiaries in Italy and Turkey illegally exported coatings to Iran, and U.S. company employees oversaw the transactions.