The Bureau of Industry and Security is “actively recruiting” members to join its Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee, Tara Gonzalez, a BIS senior policy adviser, said on LinkedIn this week. The committee gives feedback and recommendations to BIS as the agency pursues new controls on emerging dual-use technologies. BIS formally solicited new members for its various TACs in April, and those applications were due June 11 (see 2404110005).

The U.S. will soon reduce licensing requirements for exports of certain space-related items to a range of countries and may transfer export control jurisdiction over other space-related defense items from the State Department to the Commerce Department, according to four rules released by the agencies Oct. 17. The rulemakings are designed to “modernize” U.S. export controls on space technologies, a senior Commerce official told reporters, including by easing restrictions on exports of less sensitive space technologies, certain spacecraft-related items and more.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is soliciting public comments on the effectiveness of its export licensing procedures for agricultural commodities to Cuba, it said in a notice. The agency plans to include a “description” of any comments it receives in a report that it must submit every two years to Congress as part of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000. Along with those comments, the report will include Cuba-related licensing data for the two-year period from Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2024. Comments are due Nov. 15.

The Bureau of Industry and Security recently updated a table on its website that lists which countries are eligible for License Exception Implemented Export Controls, an exception unveiled Sept. 5 that allows exporters to ship certain quantum computing items, chip machines and other advanced technologies without a license (see 2409050028). In a final rule, BIS said it updated the table on Sept. 17 by adding Denmark, Finland and Japan “to appropriate items in the table.” It also revised the table’s URL to be “shorter and simpler” and made other minor changes. The final rule is effective Oct. 16.

The Bureau of Industry and Security has completed a round of interagency review for a final rule that could remove export licensing requirements for certain spacecraft and related items destined to Australia, Canada and the U.K. BIS sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 30 (see 2409030005), and the review was completed Oct. 10.

The U.S. will probably increase its use of sanctions and export controls no matter who wins the upcoming presidential election, although a Donald Trump-led administration would be more likely to pursue drastic measures that could accelerate U.S.-China decoupling, said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Those measures include expanding the use of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s foreign direct product rule or placing blocking sanctions on major Chinese companies such as Huawei.

The Bureau of Industry and Security appears to be making good on its pledge to step up export control enforcement to protect sensitive American technology from China, two former U.S. government officials said Oct. 15.

The Bureau of Industry and Security this week added eight companies to its Unverified List after it was unable to verify the “legitimacy and reliability” of the entities through end-use checks, including their ability to responsibly receive controlled U.S. exports. It also removed two companies from the list after BIS said it was able to successfully conduct end-use checks.

The Bureau of Industry and Security last week completed rounds of interagency review for two rules that could revise its space-related controls.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will add eight companies in China, Germany, Pakistan and Turkey to its Unverified List, it said in a final rule released Oct. 15 and effective Oct. 16. It will also remove one company in China and one in Saudi Arabia. All export license exceptions involving the parties added to the list will be suspended, and exporters must file certain Electronic Export Information and obtain a statement from any party listed on the UVL before proceeding with certain exports.