FedEx is appealing a U.S. court’s September decision to dismiss the company’s 2019 lawsuit against the Bureau of Industry and Security (see 2009110038), according to court records filed Nov. 5. The shipping company told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that BIS was acting outside the authority of the Export Administration Regulations by applying overly burdensome liability standards on carriers (see 1906250030). But BIS said FedEx’s allegations were politically driven (see 1909110073) and the court said FedEx failed to prove the allegations (see 2009110038). In September, FedEx said it was “disappointed” by the court’s ruling and was considering an appeal (see 2009140003).

The Bureau of Industry and Security had planned to submit several export control proposals for the 2020 Wassenaar Arrangement but will have to wait another year due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 (see 2004290044). Matt Borman, the Commerce Department's deputy assistant secretary for export administration, said Wassenaar has been unable to meet this year and could not gather recommendations for dual-use controls from member states.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is considering export controls on certain “software” that can be exploited to develop biological weapons (see 2010010003) and requested feedback from industry about the impact of the controls, the agency said in a Nov. 5 notice. The controls would target software “for the operation of nucleic acid assemblers and synthesizers” that can design and build “functional genetic elements from digital sequence data.” The controls would fall under BIS’s emerging technology effort, and comments are due Dec. 21.

Three U.S. companies said they may have violated U.S. sanctions or export controls related to overseas sales and illegally processed payments, according to their most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The potential violations include disclosures of dealings with sanctioned businesses, including sales to Iran.

The Bureau of Industry and Security did not impose penalties on a U.S. electronics company that had disclosed potential export violations (see 1911290004) for shipments involving Iran and Syria, Arrow Electronics said in an Oct. 29 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Arrow, which disclosed that it helped ship $5,000 worth of products to resellers covered by U.S. sanctions, said BIS closed its investigation and issued the company a warning letter with no penalties. BIS declined to comment. Arrow said it is still being investigated by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for the sanctions violations, which “may result in the imposition of penalties.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for three people for illegal firearms exports, according to Oct. 30 orders.

Huawei is suing the Trump administration for not releasing documents more than a year after the Chinese technology company requested them. In the lawsuit, filed Oct. 30, Huawei said its Freedom of Information Act requests have been met with “a remarkable degree of stonewalling” and relate to the U.S. investigation into Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, “trade relations” between the U.S. and China and “competition over the development of 5G technology.” Huawei named a range of U.S. agencies in the complaint, including the Bureau of Industry and Security and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

U.S. export controls on foundational technologies would impede U.S. innovation and do little to reduce national security concerns, the Computer and Communications Industry Association said in a letter to the Bureau of Industry and Security. The group urged BIS to construct a “narrowly tailored” export regime or risk stymieing U.S. leadership in a range of technologies.

The agency responsible for U.S. financial sanctions lost a record number of employees last year, a trend former officials and industry lawyers say has led to longer processing times and an influx of new officials.

The Bureau of Industry and Security revised its license review policy for items controlled for national security reasons and destined for China, Venezuela and Russia (see 2010230007), the agency said in a final rule released Oct. 28. The rule, which takes effect Oct. 29, said BIS and other “reviewing agencies” will determine whether those exports will make a “material contribution” to the weapons systems of the countries before approving the shipments.