A new Commerce Department rule aimed at making it easier for certain U.S. technologies to be shared at standards-setting bodies will “undermine” U.S. efforts to protect those sensitive technologies from being acquired by China, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said. Although the rule, issued last week (see 2209080038), sought to allow the participation of U.S. companies in international standards bodies that have members on the Entity List, McCaul said it also undermines U.S. export restrictions. “Companies that are entity-listed are threats to national security, and we need real safeguards to ensure sensitive technology is not transferred to these bad actors,” said McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
After several years of delays, Commerce Department officials said industry may soon see progress on the agency’s long-awaited routed export rule. Although the rule is unlikely to be published this year, officials this week said they are hoping to prioritize the effort in the coming months, which could include major changes to the process around assigning filing responsibilities to forwarders and address information sharing among parties in routed export transactions (see 2006020049).
Two senior Bureau of Industry and Security officials are in Singapore this week to discuss emerging technology export controls with their government counterparts in Asia and Europe and members of industry. BIS said Thea Kendler, the agency’s assistant secretary for export administration, and Matthew Axelrod, the agency’s top enforcement official, will discuss the multilateral response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will speak about export control laws and regulations at several events organized alongside a range of trading partners. In addition, Kendler will speak at the inaugural Women in Strategic Trade Conference Sept. 14, which “provides an opportunity to collaborate internationally on increased opportunities for women in export controls.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security completed an interagency review for a final rule that would implement certain export control decisions agreed to at the multilateral Australia Group. The rule, sent for review last month (see 2208180018) and completed Sept. 9, would place controls on certain marine toxins, plant pathogens and biological equipment.
The Commerce Department is planning to expand export controls over certain semiconductor items destined to China (see 2208010011) next month, including those used for artificial intelligence and chipmaking tools, Reuters reported Sept. 11. Commerce already outlined some new restrictions in letters earlier this year to KLA, Lam Research and Applied Materials, Reuters said, which include new export licensing requirements on chipmaking equipment to Chinese factories capable of making chips more advanced than 14 nanometers. The new rules would also codify restrictions outlined by Commerce in letters to NVIDIA and AMD last month (see 2209010059), the report said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on potential export controls over certain instruments for the automated synthesis of peptides, the agency said in an advance notice of proposed rulemaking this week. The agency, which has been drafting the ANPRM since at least June (see 2206270007 and 2208290019), said automated peptide synthesizers may warrant export restrictions as foundational or emerging technologies because of their potential impact on American national security. Comments are due Oct. 28.
Brianna Krominga, former trade attorney at Stanton, joined business law firm LimNexus as a senior associate in the Washington, D.C.-based International Trade & Regulatory Compliance group, the firm announced. Krominga previously co-led a court-appointed compliance monitor team for the "largest criminal monitorship in U.S. history for export controls and sanctions violations," the firm said. Krominga also helped lead the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security corporate audit of a Chinese multinational telecom company. Her practice will center on export controls, economic sanctions, customs and Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. matters, LimNexus said.
New multilateral export controls on certain electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) software won’t have an immediate effect on semiconductor companies and are unlikely to cause wide concern in the short term, industry officials said. The controls, announced by the Bureau of Industry and Security Aug. 15 (see 2208120038) and effective in October, seek to restrict an emerging technology that may not be commercially available for at least two years, although officials say it remains unclear what exactly the restrictions will cover.
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced an interim final rule that expands authorization for the release of controlled technology for the purposes of standards-setting activities to also include software and all entities on the agency’s Entity List. The authorization previously applied only to "technology" and some listed entities, namely Huawei and its affiliates. The interim rule addresses concerns about whether BIS licenses are required to release low-level technology for legitimate standards activities, BIS said in a Sept. 8 press release. The interim rule takes effect Sept. 9.
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently revoked export privileges for two people after they illegally exported controlled items from the U.S.