The Commerce Department quietly stopped approving new licenses for firearms exports to three Latin American countries months before publicly announcing a broader suspension in October for dozens of other nations.
The Commerce and Treasury departments earlier this month co-hosted a virtual “exchange” with small to mid-sized financial institutions, law enforcement and government agencies to discuss Russian attempts to evade export controls, the agencies announced Nov. 21. The exchange included officials from the Bureau of Industry and Security, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and “exemplified the ongoing U.S. Government effort to further constrain and prevent Russia from accessing the international financial system and conduct economic activity to fund its invasion of Ukraine,” Treasury said. The effort came about a week after BIS and FinCEN issued another set of export control evasion red flags for financial services firms along with a new key term that banks and others can include in their suspicious activity reports (see 2311060055).
The Bureau of Industry and Security has completed a round of interagency review for a proposed rule that could make “enhancements” to and simplify License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization, which authorizes certain exports to trusted U.S. allies if the foreign importer certifies that they won’t reexport the item outside a list of STA countries. BIS sent the rule for interagency review Sept. 8 (see 2309110009), and the review was completed Nov. 17. The agency has said it wants more exporters to use the license exception, which could help expedite certain exports and reduce the workload for the government (see 2209280042).
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently made available its process by which companies may begin submitting notifications for certain exports of “gray-zone” semiconductors that fall just below the new chip control parameters announced last month (see 2310170055). As part of the updated restrictions, BIS is requiring a notification under new License Exception Notified Advanced Computing (NAC), which will authorize certain exports of certain chips to China, Macau and destinations subject to a U.S. arms embargo.
An academic and journalists from England and Foreign Policy magazine agreed that President Joe Biden got more out of the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping than Xi did.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added four entities to the Entity List last week after the agency said they illegally supplied U.S. items and parts to Russia or Venezuela. The companies, which have locations in Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Panama, Spain, Russia and Venezuela, either supplied U.S.-origin integrated circuits to Russia’s defense sector or helped the Nicolas Maduro-led regime in Venezuela illegally acquire export-controlled aircraft parts.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is preparing to release another new set of Russia-related export controls next month, which could include potential additions to the Entity List, said Matthew Borman, the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for export administration.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week removed a Chinese scientific institute from the Entity List that the agency had originally added in 2020 for ties to human rights abuses in Xinjiang (see 2005220058). The move, outlined in a final rule effective Nov. 16, removed the Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science of China from the list.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added four entities to the Entity List for either illegally supplying parts to Russia’s defense industrial base or helping Venezuela illegally acquire U.S. aircraft parts. The four companies, some of which have locations in multiple countries, are located in Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Panama, Spain, Russia and Venezuela. Effective Nov. 17, the companies are subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under either a policy of denial or presumption of denial.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is working to convince more countries to place export controls on advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment destined to China, but the agency couldn’t afford to delay its most recent chip controls as other nations mulled them over, said Thea Kendler, BIS assistant secretary for export administration. While the agency prefers to implement its chip controls and other restrictions alongside allies, “we will not hesitate to act unilaterally to protect U.S. national security,” Kendler said.