The U.S. expanded export controls on Russia to cover a broader range of “commercial and industrial operations,” including wood products and construction machinery, the Commerce Department said. The new controls make more items on the Export Administration Regulations subject to “stringent” licensing restrictions for export to Russia, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in a final rule that includes the specific Schedule B numbers and Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes of the newly restricted items. Commerce said the items previously didn’t require a license for “most exports” to Russia.
The U.S.-China competition will be the “geopolitical challenge for this generation,” Cordell Hull, principal at WestExec Advisors, told an online symposium May 5 on Indo-Pacific geopolitics hosted jointly by the Asia programs of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) and the Wilson Center. “I certainly hope it can be managed,” and that it “doesn’t lead us into places where neither country really wants to go,” he said.
PHILADELPHIA -- The Bureau of Industry and Security may look to increase collaboration with law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to help them better investigate export control violations, said Thea Kendler, BIS’ assistant secretary for export administration. Although BIS helps train agents from other departments at the Export Enforcement Coordination Center, it could look into bolstering that work, Kendler said May 4 at the annual University Export Control Conference at the University of Pennsylvania.
PHILADELPHIA -- The Bureau of Industry and Security hasn’t received many questions on its new cybersecurity export control rule since it took effect in March (see 2110200036 and 2201110025) but is planning more guidance to help industry and academia comply with the restrictions, a government official said. The official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly at the May 4 University Export Control Conference at the University of Pennsylvania, said the rule may not be getting much attention because its implementation coincided with a string of Russia-related export controls.
PHILADELPHIA -- The Bureau of Industry and Security is leaning toward new export controls on brain computer interface technologies despite urging from industry to avoid the restrictions altogether. Thea Kendler, BIS assistant secretary for export administration, said BCI technology has too many potential “nefarious” uses to not be subject to at least some restrictions.
Peter Quinter, former customs and international trade attorney at GrayRobinson, joined Gunster as the leader of its Customs and International Trade Law Group, Quinter said in a post on his LinkedIn account. Quinter advises on issues involving investigations by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Before entering private practice, Quinter served as counsel at the Southeast Regional Headquarters of the U.S. Customs Service.
PHILADELPHIA -- The Bureau of Industry and Security has no immediate plans to remove the virus that caused the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, from its export control classification of EAR99 (see 2002250069), a government official said. Removing the virus from EAR99 -- a classification for products that generally don't require export licenses under the Export Administration Regulations -- could subject exports of the virus to restrictions that may hinder vital information sharing or vaccine delivery, the official said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week posted its first tranche of Russia-related frequently asked questions to provide guidance on recent export control announcements. The FAQs cover license requirements, license application review policies, the agency's foreign direct product rules and de minimis rules, excluded countries, luxury goods, license exceptions and country group and country chart changes. The agency said it plans to update the guidance as it receives more questions and as new controls are announced.
PHILADELPHIA -- The U.S. government is working through a range of challenges when delivering export control guidance to university researchers, government officials said, including to some colleges that opt out of certain projects rather than risk violating controls. The government is also still running into challenging questions about whether its controls should apply to fundamental research, one official said.
A lack of guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security on its recent Russia-related foreign direct product rules is creating compliance “chaos” for companies operating in the region (see 2203070039), Torres Trade Law said in an April alert. The firm said businesses have been “left to fend” for themselves “when it comes to compliance with the new FDP rules,” partly because BIS hasn’t yet published any enforcement actions or settlements for either rule.