The Bureau of Industry and Security's effort to control emerging and foundational technologies is creating “substantial uncertainty” in the technology sector, Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Senate Armed Services Committee Feb. 23, according to his prepared testimony. Smith urged BIS and the Commerce Department to create a “balanced and coherent framework” to protect U.S. technologies without “isolating” U.S. companies, including from working with China.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs began a review of a final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that will amend the Export Administration Regulations to expand controls on Myanmar. OIRA received the rule Feb. 23. BIS recently announced increased restrictions on exports to Myanmar, including a more strict licensing policy and the suspension of certain license exceptions (see 2102170005).

A judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas declined to allow the state of Texas to voluntarily drop a civil forfeiture lawsuit over goods seized by a local law enforcement group that aims to stop illegal exports. The state will continue litigation in a similar case in front of the same court. The federal government isn't a party in either case.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued orders temporarily denying export privileges for two people involved in illegal exports. Jesse Rodriguez was convicted Jan. 16, 2019, of helping to sell controlled ammunition -- including .223 and 7.62 caliber ammunition -- from the U.S., BIS said in a Feb. 19 order. Rodriguez was sentenced to 30 months in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100 assessment. BIS denied Rodriguez’s export privileges for five years from the date of conviction. Fahad Saleem Kharbey was convicted May 31, 2019, of illegally exporting controlled firearms and magazines from the U.S. to the United Arab Emirates, BIS said in another Feb. 19 order. Kharbey was sentenced to 36 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $200 assessment. BIS denied Kharbey’s export privileges for seven years from the date of conviction.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on Feb. 19 issued a new set of frequently asked questions and revised another set of FAQs to provide guidance on export and record-keeping requirements for shipments to Hong Kong and China. The new guidance explains how exports destined to Hong Kong are treated under the Export Administration Regulations, what license exceptions are still available and whether certain goods require a license. The revised set of FAQs covers record-keeping requirements for those exports. The guidance came about two months after BIS removed Hong Kong as a separate destination from China under the EAR (see 2012220053) and after its July suspension of certain license exceptions for exports to Hong Kong (see Ref:2006300050]).

A Commerce Department rule designed to cut off U.S. shipments to foreign military intelligence agencies in China, Russia and beyond could create a host of due-diligence issues for exporters, industry lawyers said. Those issues could be compounded by industry uncertainty surrounding the scope of the rule, which may be unclear without BIS guidance. “We're getting an enormous number of questions,” said Giovanna Cinelli, an export control lawyer with Morgan Lewis. “I think the rule is open to interpretation, and that’s creating uncertainty.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for a Chicago resident for an illegal export to the United Arab Emirates, BIS said in a Feb. 17 order. BIS said Siddharth Bhatt was convicted Sept. 16, 2020, of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after he tried to export a controlled U.S.-origin thermal imaging camera to the UAE without a required license. Bhatt was sentenced to 48 months of probation and was fined about $2,500. BIS revoked Bhatt’s export privileges for 10 years from the date of his conviction, and revoked any BIS-issued licenses in which he had an interest at the time of his conviction.

Sen. Tom Cotton, one of the most prominent China hawks in Congress, thinks that the Bureau of Industry and Security is buried within an organization “hostile to the aggressive use of export controls,” and so it should be moved from the Commerce Department to the State Department, because, he says, that department puts national security first. Cotton, who has published a lengthy report on what he calls the economic long war with China, discussed his views during an online program at the Reagan Presidential Foundation on Feb. 18.

The Bureau of Industry and Security have outlined a series of increased restrictions on exports to Myanmar, including a more strict licensing policy and the suspension of certain license exceptions. The changes, described by the Commerce Department last week and effective Feb. 18, came after President Joe Biden authorized sanctions and ordered stronger export controls for shipments to the country’s military after it overthrew the government earlier this month (see 2102110020).

Nazak Nikakhtar, who served several months as the Bureau of Industry and Security's acting undersecretary, joined Wiley Rein as a partner in its international trade and co-chair in its national security practice, the firm said Feb. 16. Nikakhtar was nominated to lead BIS in April 2019 but stepped down as she awaited Senate confirmation, returning to a senior position at the International Trade Administration (see 1908290044).