The House voted 222-210 last week to pass its China competition bill, which includes a variety of provisions that could expand U.S. export controls, sanctions and investment screening authorities. Although the America Competes Act faced objections from Republicans who argued it wasn’t tough enough on China and didn’t include strong enough export control measures (see 2202020039), several provisions could lead to more China sanctions and further restrict exports of critical American technologies.

Two senators this week asked the Commerce Department to say whether it opposes stronger export controls against SMIC, China’s top chipmaker, as has been reported in the media, and to explain why.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

The U.S. should build a “consortium” of like-minded countries to collaborate more closely on semiconductor export controls to counter China and its coercion of Taiwan, the Center for a New American Security said in a Jan. 27 report. The consortium would also coordinate other “punitive actions,” such as investment screening, to counter “Chinese economic and political aggression.”

The U.S. needs to more aggressively monitor transactions that aren't reported to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., said Nazak Nikakhtar, former acting head of the Bureau of Industry and Security. Nikakhtar, speaking during a Jan. 27 panel discussion hosted by China Tech Threat, said that the transfer of technologies to China, particularly semiconductor production equipment, has allowed it to outpace America in hypersonic missiles and has “placed the U.S. and the world in incredible jeopardy.”

As the U.S. and the European Union both prepare their own set of Russian sanctions and export controls, a senior U.S. official said the measures may not be identical but will align very closely to avoid hurting the competitiveness of U.S. firms. Peter Harrell, a National Security Council official, also said the trade restrictions won’t amount to an embargo against “everyday” Russian consumers, and will likely include exemptions and a wind-down period.

The Commerce Department’s Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee submitted three Wasseanar proposals to Commerce to consider for the 2022 cycle, including two updates to previously submitted proposals. The proposals, which involve Category 6 items (sensors and lasers) on the Commerce Control List, include diode laser bar controls (6A005.d.1.c.1), an updated proposal for green lasers (6.A.5.b.3.a.2) and an updated proposal for certain semiconductor lasers (6.A.5.d.1.a), the committee said during a Jan. 25 meeting.

The Bureau of Industry and Security should update its export controls surrounding infrared technologies to allow U.S. companies to better compete with foreign firms, said Mike Muench, CEO of Seek Thermal, a thermal imaging company. Muench, speaking during a Jan. 25 meeting of the Commerce Department’s Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee, said BIS hasn’t “significantly” updated its infrared technology controls since 2005, when the infrared sector was dramatically different. “That was several generations ago, relatively speaking, in the technology space,” Muench said. “We really believe it's time for us to address some of these changes to allow U.S. firms to be more competitive.”

The House’s America Competes Act of 2022 would revise and introduce a range of new export control and sanctions provisions, including new restrictions on exports of electronic waste-related goods, more designations targeting China for human rights abuses and a repeal of the sunset of the Magnitsky human rights sanctions regime. The bill, unveiled this week as the response to the Senate’s U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, would also require the Biden administration to conduct “periodic” reviews over its export controls for surveillance equipment, urges the administration to reexamine U.S. export policies for countries that supply weapons to terrorist organizations and calls for better harmonization of U.S. export control and sanctions policies with allies.

The Commerce Department this week released the results of its 2021 request for information on risks in the semiconductor supply chain (see 2109230018), finding that greater U.S. fab capacity would help alleviate chip supply chain issues. The agency also said U.S. semiconductor companies have “significantly increased the utilization of their existing capacity” since the chip shortage began in 2020, but demand continues to outpace supply. In a report outlining the results, Commerce urged Congress to fund legislation that would provide more support and incentives for the semiconductor industry. “The RFI results make it clear: America needs to produce more semiconductors,” Commerce said. “Congress must pass funding for domestic semiconductor production, such as the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, to solve our supply challenges for the long term.”