The Bureau of Industry and Security sent an interim final rule for interagency review this week that could update U.S. export controls on certain semiconductor manufacturing items and make modifications to the Entity List. The rule was sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Oct. 4. A BIS spokesperson declined to comment about what the rule will entail.

U.S. allies in Europe and Asia would support new efforts to coordinate on export controls for advanced technologies, including semiconductors, panelists said during an event this week hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But they also said those same countries don’t believe the world needs a new dual-use multilateral export control regime to replace the Wassenaar Arrangement, even though Russia remains a member and can block proposals.

LONDON -- A looming Bureau of Industry and Security rule that would expand the agency’s restrictions on U.S. persons' activities is “going to be a compliance challenge that I don't think we're ready for,” said Robert Monjay, a former BIS analyst and export control executive with Intel.

The European Commission this week issued a list of 10 critical technology areas that it plans to focus on as part of its economic security strategy, which outlined in June plans to improve export controls and study whether it needs better investment screening guardrails (see 2306200052). Of the 10 categories, the commission singled out four technology areas -- advanced semiconductor technologies, artificial intelligence technologies, quantum technologies and biotechnologies -- that are “highly likely to present the most sensitive and immediate risks related to technology security and technology leakage.”

LONDON -- The Bureau of Industry and Security is increasingly sending out is-informed letters to warn companies that some of their currently unrestricted products need an export license before they can be shipped, said Nancy Fischer, a Pillsbury trade lawyer. Some companies receiving the letters view them as unfair, Fischer said, particularly because BIS doesn’t always send similar letters to their competitors.

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The EU has received assurances that Beijing will grant export licenses for shipments of gallium and germanium to European businesses despite the restrictions China placed on exports of the two metals in August (see 2307050018), European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said this week. Dombrovskis also said the bloc is looking to sanction additional Chinese firms that may be skirting restrictions against Russia and is hoping to ensure its upcoming supply chain due diligence regulations don’t impose excessive compliance burdens on EU companies.

LONDON -- The Bureau of Industry and Security is noticing a sharp uptick in low-level U.S. microelectronics exports to countries that weren’t involved in semiconductor-related shipments before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, said Liz Abraham, senior adviser for international policy at BIS. She said BIS is looking at creative ways to potentially restrict some of those shipments, even though many of them are designated under the Export Administration Regulations as EAR99 -- items that generally don’t require an export license.

The Commerce Department is asking companies to use its Semiconductor Alert Mechanism, which collects reports on chip supply chain disruptions so the government can look to address those issues, including with trading partners. The agency said it’s “calling on companies, manufacturers, and other interested parties to submit information regarding any new, ongoing, or potential disruptions to microelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing facilities and their related supply chains around the world,” adding that it “will review submissions on a rolling basis and will follow up with parties as needed.”

Two semiconductor companies said they have filed for approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. for a merger, Squire Patton said in a Sept. 28 blog post. Renesas Electronics Corporation has offered to acquire all outstanding ordinary and American Depositary Shares of Sequans, and "Completion of the Offer is conditioned on the receipt of ‘CFIUS Approval,’” according to a recent SEC filing.