The Bureau of Industry and Security this week extended the comment period on an information collection related to its license exemptions and exclusions for export-controlled goods. In June, comments were requested during a 60-day period (see 2206140007), but the agency said it’s allowing for an additional 30 days of input.
Although the new U.S. export controls against China are likely to have minimal impacts on the U.S. semiconductor industry, a broader implementation of the controls could quickly raise costs on U.S. and allied suppliers and hurt the domestic chip industry, the Rhodium Group said in a report this month. The research firm said damages to semiconductor companies “could balloon quickly under a tightening of controls,” which it believes is “highly plausible.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security is hoping the recent changes to its administrative enforcement policies help clear a “backlog” of minor cases that had been taking up too much of the agency’s time and resources, said Matthew Axelrod, BIS’s top enforcement official. Axelrod, speaking during an event last week hosted by the Massachusetts Export Center, also said the agency is making progress on establishing a multilateral export enforcement mechanism and urged exporters to make sure they are continuously screening suppliers and customers.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week revoked the export privileges for Texas resident Claudia Delgadillo for her role in illegally concealing, buying and facilitating the “transportation and concealment” of rifles and handguns from the U.S. to Mexico. BIS said Delgadillo was convicted Oct. 9, 2019, and was sentenced to four years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100 assessment. BIS denied Delgadillo's export privileges for 10 years from the date of conviction.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 19 completed interagency review for a final rule that would implement certain export control decisions made during the 2021 Wassenaar Arrangement cycle. The rule, sent for review Aug. 4 (see 2208080021), will revise the Commerce Control List and corresponding parts of the Export Administration Regulations, including License Exception Adjusted Peak Performance, BIS said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week renewed the temporary denial order for Moscow-based air cargo carrier Aviastar. BIS first suspended the export privileges of the Russian cargo charter airline in April (see 2204210043), barring it from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The agency renewed the denial order for another 180 days after finding Aviastar continued to illegally operate aircraft subject to the EAR, including for flights between Russia and China.
Many companies are still trying to assess the “exact implications” of the U.S.’s new export controls on China (see 2210070049) and are hoping guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security provides some answers, said Paul Trulio, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Trulio told Bank of America that the controls are “still in the early stage” and it's too soon to “quantify the impact,” according to an Oct. 19 readout of a call published by the bank.
Artificial intelligence export controls should only be imposed multilaterally and should contain no ambiguity in order to minimize harm on U.S. competitiveness, trade groups told the Commerce Department this week. They said the controls also should clearly distinguish between “general purpose” and “application specific” AI software so the restrictions only cover items that pose genuine national security concerns.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a temporary denial order for Russian airline Ural Airlines after it violated U.S. export controls by flying multiple aircraft to Russia, BIS said. Under the order, Ural Airlines’ export privileges will be revoked for at least 180 days.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week updated its “Don’t Let This Happen To You” guidance with new summaries and case examples of past export control investigations. The guidance now includes new case summaries of violations involving export controls against China, Russia, Iran and other countries.