The U.S. and its allies should establish a new multilateral export control system to prevent sensitive technologies from being sent to dangerous end-users, including those in China, said Rich Ashooh, a former senior U.S. export control official. Ashooh applauded American efforts so far and said it shouldn’t abandon the existing multilateral control regimes, but he said a more formal system is needed.

Amid lobbying from the U.S. to take a tougher stance on China, Japan plans to introduce new export controls on advanced semiconductor technology and manufacturing equipment this spring, The Japan Times reported Feb. 5. The country will specifically place new restrictions on chip technology used for military applications, the report said, and will first solicit feedback from industry and others. The new regulations “will not explicitly name China” because Japan doesn’t want to “trigger retaliatory measures,” the report said. The U.S. reportedly concluded talks with Japan and the Netherlands in January after months of lobbying both governments to impose tougher export controls on chip-related items destined to China (see 2301270002).

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Although former national security officials agreed that the U.S. should consider outbound investment review restrictions, they panned a congressional proposal that would have granted a new interagency committee “sweeping” power to restrict capital flows to China. Speaking during a House Financial Services Committee hearing this week, some of the former officials said Congress should rethink the proposal and also urged the Biden administration against issuing a unilateral executive order to establish an outbound investment review regime.

Former Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., has joined Arnold & Porter as a senior policy adviser and resident in the Legislative and Public Policy practice, the firm announced. In Congress, Kind served on the House Ways and Means Committee and its Subcommittees on Health and Trade, where he engaged on various issues including multiple free trade agreements, the CHIPS Act, and tax and pension reform legislation.

With hostile acts like China recently sending a spy balloon drifting across the U.S., Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said it's difficult to manage the U.S.-China relationship "when our economies are deeply integrated."

The U.S. should “acknowledge” the national security risks associated with outbound investments into China, said Nathaniel Fick, the first ambassador at large of the State Department’s recently established Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. Fick, speaking during a Feb. 2 event hosted by the German Marshall Fund, suggested he’s expecting government action around outbound investments soon.

New U.S. chip export controls are among the most complex export regulatory provisions ever published and have caused significant uncertainty in the semiconductor industry, trade groups and technology firms told the Bureau of Industry and Security in comments that were due this week. More than 40 companies, trade associations, law firms and others asked BIS to revise parts of the regulations or offer more guidance to avoid hurting U.S. competitiveness, with some saying the new controls may force foreign companies to stop using U.S.-origin items altogether rather than deal with the added compliance obligations.

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The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, R-Texas, promised a "thorough review of the policies and procedures" at the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security after the state-run China Academy of Engineering Physics reportedly was able to continue purchasing U.S.-made semiconductors since 2020 despite being on a U.S. export ban list since 1997.