Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company may face a fine of up to $1 billion or more if the Commerce Department determines it violated U.S. export control laws against Huawei, Reuters reported April 8. The Bureau of Industry and Security has reportedly been investigating the chip company after one of its chips was found in a Huawei product (see 2411120011 and 2410230019), and Reuters said Commerce could reach a $1 billion penalty because export control regulations allow the agency to issue a fine of up to twice the value of transactions that violate the rules. Reuters said it "could not determine how the Trump administration will proceed with TSMC or when the matter would be resolved."
The U.S. executive branch has “really good authorities” to restrict exports of advanced computing chips but should improve how it wields them to prevent China from exploiting loopholes, a technology policy researcher told a congressional panel April 8.
Sara McNaughton, a former policy adviser for the Bureau of Industry and Security's assistant secretary for export administration, has joined advisory firm Beacon Global Strategies, the firm announced on LinkedIn. At BIS, McNaughton worked on “advanced technology policy, Middle East affairs, and stakeholder engagement,” her biography says.
Michael Pender, a longtime senior engineer with the Bureau of Industry and Security, is retiring from government April 30, he announced on LinkedIn. He works in the Office of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls, where he said he helps to review dual-use exports, with a focus on items containing advanced encryption features or related to information security. Pender has worked at BIS for more than two decades.
Ross Kennedy, founder of advisory firm Fortis Analysis, has joined the Bureau of Industry and Security as a senior adviser, he announced this week on LinkedIn. Kennedy said his "primary focus will be on supporting exceptional agents, analysts, and colleagues in the Office of Export Enforcement, a law enforcement agency staffed by quiet, diligent, dedicated professionals and which sits at the nexus of national security and advanced technologies, data, and products."
The European Commission hasn't been officially informed by the Bureau of Industry and Security about the agency's plans to pull back from export control talks at the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council, a commission spokesperson said this week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week added 30 parties to its boycott requester list, a list of entities that have asked other companies to boycott goods from certain countries in violation of the Export Administration Regulations. It also removed 18 parties after they certified that they "stopped making boycott-related requests in transactions with U.S. persons," BIS said.
Members of the Bureau of Industry and Security's Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee were asked during their April 3 meeting to sign or re-sign non-disclosure agreements as Trump administration officials review how the TACs operate.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week revoked the export privileges of a Kenya-based company and two people for trying to illegally export airplane parts from the U.S. to Russia, including by lying to American freight forwarders and other businesses about where the parts would be sent. It also warned that the company and people are continuing to try to illegally buy export controlled parts from American businesses.
The U.S. this week unsealed an indictment charging José Adolfo Macías Villamar, leader of the Ecuadorian drug trafficking group Los Choneros, with smuggling firearms from the U.S. along with other drug and weapons-related charges. DOJ said Macías Villamar helped Los Choneros obtain firearms and weapons by illegally trafficking and exporting them from the U.S., including by hiring people to buy guns in the U.S. and smuggle them to Ecuador.