The Biden administration has imposed tighter conditions on previously approved export licenses for some Huawei suppliers, Bloomberg reported March 11. The increased restrictions, which took effect last week, “create a more explicit prohibition on the export” of semiconductors and other components for use in Huawei’s 5G devices, and aim to make the Commerce Department’s export restrictions “more uniform among licensees,” the report said. The move is the latest sign that the Biden administration plans to continue a strict Huawei export licensing policy, which began under the Trump administration and ended with a flurry of license denials during President Donald Trump’s final days in office (see 2101150062). A spokesperson for the Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees the license applications, said it can't comment on licensing decisions due to “confidentiality provisions.”

The U.S. needs to immediately modernize export controls and foreign investment screening mechanisms to counter Chinese technology advancement, a U.S. commission told Congress. The members of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, building off a report it released earlier this month, told lawmakers March 12 that the U.S. is in danger of ceding technology leadership over artificial intelligence if it doesn’t devote more resources to innovation and create a clearer national technology strategy.

The Chinese and American semiconductor industry associations will establish a China-U.S. semiconductor working group to streamline information sharing between the two industries, and exchange policies on export controls, supply chain security, encryption and other trade restrictions. The move was announced March 11 on the China Semiconductor Industry Association's website, according to an unofficial translation. The group plans to meet twice a year to address the most pressing issues surrounding semiconductors, including the current global shortage of the key technology, it said. Following the negotiations, each association will appoint 10 member companies to participate in the working group. CSIA is a state-backed association of 774 Chinese semiconductor-related businesses. Its American counterpart is the Semiconductor Industry Association, whose stated mission is lobbying “to strengthen U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research.” Neither group has announced participants for the working group.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on ways the agency can help boost the competitiveness and capacity of the U.S. semiconductor industry, according to a notice issued March 11. The comments, due April 5, will help inform the Commerce Department’s policy recommendations to the White House as part of a February executive order to address supply chain shortages of semiconductor chips (see 2102240068).

The U.S. needs to modernize its approach to export controls and expand disclosure requirements for foreign investment screening to maintain its technology dominance over China, a U.S. national security commission said in a report this week. The commission called current U.S. export controls outdated, urged the Commerce Department to more quickly control emerging and foundational technologies, and said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. should review a broader set of transactions to protect sensitive technologies.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Feb. 22-26 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

A Chinese businessman in Hong Kong allegedly conspired to steal technology from General Electric to create his own startup company, the Justice Department said Feb. 26. The agency charged Chi Lung Winsman Ng with plotting with a GE engineer to steal trade secrets from the company to manufacture and sell “silicon carbide metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors,” or small electronic semiconductors. Ng and the engineer allegedly developed a business plan for their startup that they planned to present to potential Chinese investors for what they said would become a $100 million company. The Justice Department did not name the engineer. It said it has “no evidence that there was an illegal” technology transfer to any Chinese company and said it has not yet arrested Ng. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

In written questions to U.S. trade representative nominee Katherine Tai, she was pressed to argue for U.S. agricultural export interests around the world, and asked how China could be moved to meet more of its promises to buy American exports, agricultural and otherwise.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Feb. 24 to address supply chain shortages of semiconductor chips, personal protective equipment, medicine and other critical goods. The order calls for a 100-day review of U.S. supply chains to pinpoint “vulnerabilities” impacting a range of goods, including certain pharmaceutical products, critical minerals such as rare earths, semiconductors and large-capacity batteries. The order also calls for a one-year review that will examine issues in a broader set of U.S. supply chains, including those impacting the defense industrial base, the public health base, the information and communications technology sector base, the energy sector industrial base, the transportation industrial base and the agricultural sector.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he directed lawmakers this week to begin crafting legislation to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry to out-compete China. The legislation will include a bipartisan bill introduced by Schumer and other lawmakers last year that would increase U.S. investment in technology, research and high-tech manufacturing (see 2006010011), Schumer said, adding that the legislation will also include other semiconductor industry initiatives. Schumer said he plans to call for a vote on the legislation this spring. “[W]e need to get a bill like this to the president's desk quickly to protect America's long-term economic and national security,” Schumer said Feb. 23. The Semiconductor Industry Association applauded Schumer’s comments and said investing in U.S. innovation is “key” to out-competing China (see 2102180062). “We urge the Biden administration and Congress to invest boldly in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research,” SIA President John Neuffer said.