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 for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
China is not convinced that the U.S. is only trying to derisk, not decouple, from China’s economy, said Ryan Hass, a former National Security Council official. He said Beijing is wary of the growing number of U.S. sanctions and trade restrictions and doesn’t believe the Biden administration is acting in “good faith,” which risks further worsening tensions.
The U.S. may run into challenges enforcing aspects of its new outbound investment restrictions on China, especially for intercompany transfers and investments, Sarah Bauerle Danzman, a former State Department official, said during a webinar hosted by the Center for a New American Security last week. She said investors will likely need more guidance on the issue whenever the Treasury Department releases regulations for the regime.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week expanded the scope of its nuclear-related export controls on China and Macau, saying the change was necessary to impose tighter license requirements on items that could “contribute to nuclear activities of concern.” The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also suspended a general license that had authorized exports of certain nuclear items for nuclear end uses in China.
Citing a Financial Times report that Chinese artificial intelligence developers are evading controls on advanced semiconductors by using cloud services, members of the House introduced a bill to stop those practices, called Closing Loopholes for the Overseas Use and Development of Artificial Intelligence (CLOUD AI). The bill was introduced last month, and its text published this week.
Lawmakers, business groups and think tanks gave a mixed bag of immediate feedback on the Biden administration’s executive order restricting outbound investments in China, with some applauding the government’s initial, cautious approach, and others expressing frustration that the restrictions don’t go far enough.
As the Biden administration this week marked the one-year anniversary of the enactment of the Chips Act, which provides incentives and funding opportunities for the chips sector, the semiconductor industry urged the White House and lawmakers to keep foreign markets open and “advance policies that enhance this historic accomplishment.”
The Biden administration this week unveiled its plans for a new outbound investment screening regime, which will restrict investments in three advanced technology sectors in China and set notification requirements for other sensitive outbound investments. The new screening regime, outlined in an executive order signed Aug. 9 by President Joe Biden, will come into force after the Treasury Department writes regulations. The agency is soliciting public comments on how it should implement the program, set certain definitions, impose due diligence requirements and more as part of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking released along with the order.
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 for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The European Council on Aug. 3 added another 38 individuals and three entities to its Belarus sanctions regime, further extending export bans to cover goods for the firearms, aviation and space industry. The listings include "penitentiary officials responsible for the torture and ill-treatment of detainees," members of the judiciary, cogs of civil society and journalists, the council said.