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.

LONDON -- The Bureau of Industry and Security hopes to publish the final version of its Oct. 7 China chip controls in October, said Liz Abraham, senior adviser for international policy at BIS.

Dealmakers are hoping for more certainty when the Treasury Department finalizes regulations for its August executive order on outbound investment restrictions, which may force companies to make difficult investment decisions without assurances that their deals won’t be later unwound.

The Commerce Department last week released the final version of its guardrails for recipients of Chips Act funding, measures it said will prevent its semiconductor industry grants from being used to benefit certain “foreign countries of concern,” including China.

The House Financial Services Committee advanced legislation this week that could apply full blocking sanctions on a host of Chinese companies in what Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., described as the “most severe set of financial restrictions the House of Representatives has ever considered.” Barr’s bill, the Chinese Military and Surveillance Company Sanctions Act (see 2302060005 and 2306130062), could lead to new financial sanctions on companies subject to certain U.S. investment restrictions and export control licensing requirements, including China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., Huawei and other major Chinese technology companies.

The U.S. and three of its partners this week expanded the list of common high-priority items that exporters and others should closely monitor for potential diversion to Russia. The list includes seven new Harmonized System codes -- among them for bearings used for heavy vehicles and antennae used for navigation systems -- and was rearranged to provide “greater clarity” to exporters conducting due diligence on shipments.

The Bureau of Industry and Security needs more resources to investigate export control violations, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said this week. She also said a potential government shutdown would be “crushing” for the agency’s enforcement efforts and work on semiconductor export regulations.