Western nations imposing export controls against Russia should shift their focus away from microchips and instead prioritize the key raw materials and machine tools that Moscow needs for its artillery, according to a report this month from the U.K-based Royal United Services Institute and Open Source Centre. The report calls for more enforcement against Chinese machine tool suppliers and new, “strict sanctions” against companies shipping materials like chrome ore that Russia uses for its weapons.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will add more than 40 entries to the Entity List for shipping sensitive items to Russia or for other activities that support Russia’s military, and it will tighten restrictions on nearly 50 entities already on the list that BIS said are procuring U.S.-branded microelectronics for Russia, the agency said in a final rule released Oct. 30. BIS also plans to introduce new chemical weapons-related controls for certain chemical precursors that Russia has used in chemical weapons against Ukraine, it said in a separate final rule.
The Bureau of Industry and Security’s proposed reporting rule for AI developers should shift from a computer-based threshold to a performance-based threshold to provide a better measure of risk, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s Center for Data Innovation told BIS this month.
Brian Assi, a Middle East-based salesman of a heavy machinery manufacturer, was convicted last week of violating sanctions against Iran after he tried to export U.S.-made drills to Iran without licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The U.S. government could face a host of challenges if it tries to place export controls on AI models to protect national security, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) said in an article last week.
A State Department proposal to revise the definition of defense services could cover an overly broad set of activities and likely exacerbate the already lengthy processing times for commodity jurisdiction requests and export license applications, defense industry groups and firms said in public comments to the agency released last week.
The Commerce Department declined to say whether it’s investigating Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company for a possible breach of export controls against Huawei but is aware of public reporting about the issue, an agency spokesperson said Oct. 24.
Chinese government efforts to obscure which firms have public links to the country’s military are making due diligence more complicated, but compliance officers can use several strategies to overcome those challenges, said Colby Potter, a former intelligence official with the State Department.
The University of Kentucky this week launched a new site to provide export control and sanctions guidance to students, researchers and other members of the school, warning that there are “severe consequences to noncompliance,” including fines and possible prison time. The site covers the basics of export controls, including which countries are subject to embargoes; research guidance; information on international shipping, travel and collaboration; compliance training; a set of FAQs; and more.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company recently spoke with Commerce Department about a possible export control issue involving one of its advanced chips, a company spokepserson said. TSMC "proactively communicated with the US Commerce Department regarding the matter," the person said Oct. 23. "We are not aware of TSMC being the subject of any investigation at this time."