The Bureau of Industry and Security has completed a round of interagency review that would revise Biden-era regulations that increased restrictions on firearms exports. The rule, sent for a review Aug. 4 and completed Sept. 10, is expected to reverse some of those restrictions amid lobbying from gun industry advocates (see 2505290012 and 2506050050).
The Bureau of Industry and Security has started restricting the public sessions of its technical advisory committee meetings, a move that has jeopardized a crucial outlet for industry feedback about new regulations, current and former administration officials and industry representatives said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week added 32 entities to the Entity List, most of them based in China, for either circumventing export controls on China, supplying controlled items to Russia, evading BIS end-use checks, supporting China’s military modernization, or other activities that BIS said breached U.S. export rules.
The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination for Landon Heid to be the assistant secretary for export administration at the Bureau of Industry and Security. Steven Haines is serving in that role on an interim basis as he awaits Senate confirmation as assistant secretary for industry and analysis within the International Trade Administration, according to a BIS official. Spokespeople for BIS and the White House didn't respond to requests for comment.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 34-28 Sept. 10 to approve a FY 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill that would provide $303 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security, up 59% from the FY 2025 enacted level. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science approved the bill in July (see 2507150089).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 32 entities to the Entity List for either circumventing export controls on China, supplying controlled items to Russia, evading BIS end-use checks or other activities that BIS said breached U.S. export rules. The additions include 23 entities located in China, along with others based in India, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, the agency said in a final rule released and effective Sept. 12. They will be subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under a presumption of denial or policy of denial.
Benjamin Haas, former Bureau of Industry and Security chief of staff during the Biden administration, has joined Highland Creek Advisors, a new Washington management consultancy, according to the firm's website. Haas left BIS in January.
Will Hunt has left his position as a senior adviser with the Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Export Administration to join the House Select Committee on China as a senior fellow. Hunt first joined BIS in 2023 before leaving the agency this month, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Anne Fisher, a former official with the Bureau of Industry and Security's chief counsel office, has joined Hogan Lovells' international trade and investment practice, the firm said. Fisher, who left BIS in July after first joining in October 2022, will advise on U.S. export control laws, economic sanctions, customs, foreign investment and other issues. She was at Hogan Lovells before going to BIS.
The Defense Department routinely funds research by Chinese entities that the U.S. government has placed on restricted lists for their ties to China’s military or role in human rights abuses, compromising the value of those designations, the House Select Committee on China said in a new report released Sept. 5.