The Bureau of Industry and Security on Nov. 17 updated its Pakistan due diligence guidance. The guidance includes information on Pakistan-related license requirements for controlled items destined for nuclear or missile activities, restrictions on U.S. persons activities and best practices for screening customers in Pakistan.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on an information collection related to voluntary disclosures for violations of the Export Administration Regulations. Comments on the information collection are due Jan. 17.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week renewed the temporary denial order for Russia's Rossiya Airlines. BIS first suspended the export privileges of the airline in May (see 2205200008), barring it from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The agency renewed the denial order for another 180 days on Nov. 15 after finding Rossiya continues to illegally operate aircraft subject to the EAR, including for flights between Russia and Turkey.
The Bureau of Industry and Security’s new Unverified List policies, which allow the agency to move a company from the UVL to the Entity List if it can’t complete an end-use check within 60 days, likely will lead to an uptick in companies added to the Entity List, said Nazak Nikahtar, former acting BIS undersecretary. Nikakhtar said she believes many Chinese companies added to the UVL won’t participate in an end-use check that meets the U.S.’s standards.
Companies should expect “robust enforcement” from the Bureau of Industry and Security surrounding its new China-related chip controls (see 2211010042 and 2210070049), which could include more end-use checks and additions to the Entity List, said Stephenie Gosnell Handler, a Gibson Dunn trade lawyer, speaking during a webinar hosted by the law firm this week. She said companies should “ensure their red flag indicators are up to date and are being vetted appropriately.”
Congress should create a new, “permanent” committee in the executive branch tasked with planning sanctions against China under “a range of possible scenarios,” including if it invades Taiwan, a congressional commission said this week. The bipartisan commission also said the Commerce Department should provide Congress with regular enforcement and licensing reports on certain China-related export control decisions and said the administration should create a new list of Chinese firms that should be subject to strict export licensing requirements.
U.S. and foreign companies “seem to be equally confused” by the Bureau of Industry and Security's new China chip export restrictions (see 2210070049), said Alison Stafford-Powell, a trade compliance lawyer with Baker McKenzie, speaking Nov. 15 during a virtual event hosted by the law firm. She called the new BIS rule “incredibly complex" and said industry needs more guidance from the agency.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's new administrative enforcement policies, including higher penalties for more serious violations, hasn’t led to a significant rise or fall in voluntary self-disclosures so far, said Matthew Axelrod, the agency’s top export enforcement official. Axelrod, speaking during a Nov. 14 event hosted by the Society for International Affairs, said BIS received 150 new VSDs since the policy change in June (see 2206300069), which he said was about the same number it received during the same time period each of the last two years.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on an information collection related to “miscellaneous licensing responsibilities and enforcement.” The collection involves various activities that “do not involve submission of documents to the BIS but instead involve exchange of documents among parties in the export transaction to ensure that each party understands its obligations under U.S. law,” the agency said in a notice released this week. Other activities involve writing export control statements on shipping documents or reporting “unforeseen changes in shipping and disposition of exported commodities.” The activities are needed by the Office of Export Enforcement and CBP to document exports and enforce the Export Administration Regulations. Comments are due Jan. 9.
The new U.S. chip controls against China (see 2210070049 and 2211010042) mark a “major escalation” in the U.S.-China technology war and will likely have a significant effect on China’s technology capabilities, Bank of America said this week. The bank also warned that the controls, which are “more comprehensive and stricter than what we have seen in the past,” could ultimately open the “door to more sweeping restrictions in other domains like leading edge manufacturing.”