The Bureau of Industry and Security reached a $44,750 settlement with Airbus DS Government Solutions, a Texas-based satellite communications company, after BIS said the firm violated the Export Administration Regulations’ antiboycott provisions. The agency said Airbus DS-GS failed to report a boycott request to the U.S. government and certified to another business that its products didn’t come from Israel.
The Commerce Department is investigating Ronda Korea, a manufacturer of parts for semiconductor equipment, and other South Korean equipment makers for possibly violating U.S. export controls by selling to restricted Chinese companies, The Information said in a May 30 report. The agency is specifically probing Ronda Korea for potentially selling parts to “sanctioned” Chinese companies using technology developed by Lam Research, a U.S. chip equipment maker, the report said. A Bureau of Industry and Security spokesperson didn’t respond to our request for comment.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission should push Congress to devote more funding to the Bureau of Industry and Security, Commissioner Michael Kuiken said during a commission hearing last week.
The U.S. government should combine its various export control and sanctions lists into two distinct lists, which could allow the government to better implement trade restrictions and improve industry compliance, a congressional commission heard this week. The commission also discussed whether U.S. export control agencies should have to release more information about their licensing decisions, with one witness saying more transparency would increase business certainty, while another said it would discourage candor between the government and exporters.
The U.S. government should re-examine its export controls for aviation and shipbuilding to slow China’s advances in those dual-use sectors, a congressionally mandated commission heard May 23. The government also should consider more restrictions on Huawei and improve its efforts to get allies on board with U.S. export controls, the panel was told.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee on May 22 approved bills that could expand controls on artificial intelligence exports and increase congressional oversight of arms transfers to Israel.
The U.S. declined to prosecute a Massachusetts biochemical company that was part of an illegal export scheme involving China, the first time DOJ’s National Security Division has offered a corporate declination under its recently updated voluntary self-disclosure program.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is extending the comment period for an information collection related to a request for appointment of a Technical Advisory Committee. The collection describes the functions and responsibilities of the Commerce Department TACs, which "advise the government on proposed revisions to export control lists, licensing procedures, assessments of the foreign availability of controlled products, and export control regulations.” BIS originally sought feedback on the information collection in February (see 2402080017), and the agency is allowing for another 30 days of comments from after the notice is published on the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee this week plans to mark up a bill that is intended to help the Bureau of Industry and Security control exports of artificial intelligence systems and other new national security-related technologies (see 2405100063).
The Bureau of Industry and Security has drafted an interim final rule that could update or clarify how export controls apply to releases of technology for standards setting or development in standards organizations. The agency sent the rule for interagency review May 17. BIS last issued updates to these controls in 2022, when it expanded an authorization for the release of controlled technology for certain standards-setting activities, including when companies on the Entity List are participating in those bodies (see 2209080038).