The Democratic leaders of two key House committees said this week they’re “deeply concerned” about the Bureau of Industry and Security potentially pivoting away from traditional export control dialogues with allies and asked BIS to respond to oversight questions before the end of next week.
Eight Senate Democrats, including Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged the Trump administration May 19 to reconsider its AI deals with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, saying the agreements lack guardrails to prevent the diversion of U.S. technology to China.
Beijing this week threatened to penalize any person or company that complies with new export control guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security about advanced Huawei chips, saying the guidance constitutes “discriminatory restrictive measures against Chinese companies.”
Although the Bureau of Industry and Security announced last week that it won’t be enforcing the Biden-era AI diffusion rule, companies should reassess their due diligence practices to prepare for a replacement rule and make sure they’re complying with existing chip controls, law firms said, which they expect the Trump administration to aggressively enforce.
U.S. companies that sell defense products or services to foreign countries or entities must report all offsets agreements greater than $5 million to the Bureau of Industry and Security by June 15, the agency said this week. Companies also must report information on offsets transactions completed “in performance of existing offsets commitments for which an offsets credit” of $250,000 or more “has been claimed from the foreign representative,” the notice said. The Commerce Department is asking for reports of offsets transactions that took place during calendar year 2024.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is working on two export-control-related notices that could outline general authorizations for certain controlled exports. One notice is titled “GENERAL AUTHORIZATION NO. 1 Limited Use Cases,” and the other is “GENERAL AUTHORIZATION NO. 2 Re-exportation.” BIS sent both notices to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on May 19. The agency didn’t release more information and didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Members of a U.S. commission on China said they approved of the Trump administration’s AI chip agreement with the United Arab Emirates last week, but they also stressed that the deal should have stringent security guardrails in place to verify that any U.S. chips aren’t being sent on to Beijing.
The Bureau of Industry and Security suspended the export privileges of six people after they were convicted of export-related offenses, including illegal shipments to companies owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch and the smuggling of firearms and engine parts to Mexico. The suspensions took effect from the date of their convictions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security quietly revised its announcement of new guidance on Huawei Ascend chips to remove language that said using those chips “anywhere in the world” is a violation of U.S. export controls.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is looking to continue moving away from proposed rulemakings and instead issue most new rules as interim final or final, said two people with knowledge of the agency’s plans.