Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Sept. 7-10 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
After several Republican lawmakers criticized the Biden administration for reportedly approving hundreds of millions of dollars worth of license applications for auto chips exports to Huawei (see 2108260014), the Commerce Department stressed that the Chinese technology company remains subject to strict licensing policies. A Commerce spokesperson said the administration hasn’t changed any of the regulatory restrictions imposed against Huawei or the policies “for implementing those restrictions” introduced under the Trump administration. “The policy has not been eased or amended,” the person said last week. The spokesperson also said all license applications are reviewed by the Defense, Energy and State departments.
Several Republican lawmakers criticized the Biden administration this week for reportedly (see 2108250018) granting export licenses for companies to ship hundreds of millions of dollars worth of auto chips to Huawei. The licenses reportedly were approved within the past several months and authorized only exports of auto chips, which are viewed as less sensitive than other types of semiconductor-related items.
The U.S. in recent months has approved license applications for exports of auto chips to Huawei worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Reuters reported Aug. 25. The approved applications have involved licenses to sell chips for various “vehicle components,” including video screens and sensors. License applications for exports of auto chips have faced lower thresholds for approval because they are “generally not considered sophisticated,” the report said. Huawei told Reuters it is “positioning” itself “as a new component provider for intelligent connected vehicles.” Huawei is subject to strict export license requirements (see 2104130041 and 2008170029).
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Aug. 16-20 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a U.S. semiconductor manufacturer $469,060 for working with others to export chip-making equipment to Chinese companies on the U.S. Entity List, BIS said in an Aug. 16 order. The company, California-based Dynatex International, violated the Export Administration Regulations because it didn’t obtain the required BIS license before shipping the equipment. Although BIS said Dynatex knew it was shipping items to blacklisted companies, the agency substantially reduced the fine as part of a settlement agreement.
Taiwan is preparing for Beijing foreign policy to grow more aggressive in the coming months and is expecting a strong retaliatory response if it signs a free trade deal with the U.S., a senior Taiwan official said. But the official stressed that the country wants to complete a trade and investment agreement with the U.S. and other democracies, which could strengthen its position as a leading global provider of semiconductors.
A group of House Republicans called on the Commerce Department to add Chinese smartphone maker Honor Device Co. Ltd. to the Entity List and asked for a briefing with the agency’s End-User Review Committee to ensure the administration is “moving with enough speed” on export controls. Because Huawei sold Honor Device Co., the company can access technology that “should be restricted,” the lawmakers said in an Aug. 6 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is “very busy” working to implement the semiconductor supply chain recommendations (see 2107140047) that arose from President Joe Biden’s February executive order (see 2102240068), including directives to pursue more collaboration with industry and a review of export controls and investment restrictions, a senior BIS official said. Sahar Hafeez, a senior adviser at BIS, said the agency will continue implementing those recommendations “in the weeks and months ahead.”
The U.S. should pursue more cooperation around multilateral export controls to address the supply chain risks within the semiconductor industry, Bureau of Industry and Security Senior Adviser Sahar Hafeez told the Information Technology Industry Council. Hafeez, speaking to ITI along with technology policy officials from the European Union and South Korea during a virtual panel last week, also stressed the importance of domestic chip investment.