The Bureau of Industry and Security removed Hong Kong as a separate destination from China under the Export Administration Regulations (see 2012160010) in response to Hong Kong losing its autonomy from Beijing, BIS said in a Dec. 22 notice. The measures, which take effect Dec. 23, remove provisions that provide Hong Kong “differential and preferential treatment” for exports, reexports or transfers for items subject to the EAR.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) Dec. 23 to add the new military end-user list (see 2012210047), consisting of 103 entities subject to export licensing requirements, the agency said in a Dec. 22 notice. Licenses will be required to export, reexport or transfer certain items described in the EAR that are subject to military end-use (MEU) or end-user licensing requirements. A BIS spokesperson said the 102 cited in the notice is a typo.
The Bureau of Industry and Security plans to officially release the first tranche of its military end-user list (see 2012080046) Dec. 22, naming 103 companies that require licenses to receive certain U.S. exports, reexports or transfers. The first tranche will include 58 Chinese and 45 Russian companies that represent an “unacceptable risk of use in or diversion to” a military end-use or military end-user in China, Russia or Venezuela, the Commerce Department said Dec. 21.
The Bureau of Industry and Security published a set of frequently asked questions to provide industry guidance on its summer update to the foreign direct product rule, which increased restrictions on certain foreign-made items (see 2009170026). The guidance, issued this week, features FAQs that cover how the restrictions apply to companies and products, and how they impact prior exports, manufacturing plants, supply chains, prior licenses and more. BIS also outlined how the restrictions may apply to various scenarios faced by industry, including licensing responsibilities and due diligence requirements.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 77 entities and people to the Entity List, including China’s top chipmaker, to further prevent China and other countries from acquiring sensitive U.S. technologies, the agency said Dec. 18. Along with China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the Entity List additions include China-based DJI, one of the world’s largest drone makers, and companies in Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Malta, Pakistan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will add China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Company and more than 60 companies to the Entity List for actions “deemed contrary” to U.S. national security. BIS said SMIC, China’s top chipmaker, has concerning ties to China’s government and risks transferring imported U.S. technology to the country’s military. Other companies will be added to the Entity List for human rights abuses, for supporting China’s militarization of the South China Sea, for diverting U.S. products to China’s military and for the theft of U.S. trade secrets. BIS did not immediately say when the restrictions will take effect.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Dec. 15 completed its review of a final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that would remove Hong Kong as a “separate destination” under the Export Administration Regulations. OIRA began reviewing the rule in November (see 2011090007). BIS said in its fall regulatory agenda that it hopes to publish the rule in February 2021 (see 2012150037).
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Dec. 14 began reviewing an interim final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that will expand end-use controls. If published, the rule will expand certain end-use and end-user controls on “specific activities of U.S. Persons.” A BIS spokesperson declined to comment.
China is a threat to the U.S., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said, and he said there's a risk that “the next administration could roll back much of the progress we’ve made the past few years, in an attempt to return to the failed dream of engaging and accommodating China.” Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Subcommittee on Economic Policy, led a subcommittee hearing Dec. 16 on U.S.-China Economic Competition. Cotton said during the hearing that export controls must be tightened.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed a review of a final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that would change the license review policy for exports of certain drones. The rule, received by OIRA Nov. 20 (see 2011230009) and completed Dec. 14, would change the review policy for exports of unmanned aerial systems to reflect the U.S.'s July decision to loosen restrictions on those exports (see 2007270035).