The Bureau of Industry and Security extended the public comment period by an additional 30 days for an information collection related to its export license application process. BIS originally requested comments by May 24 (see 2203240002).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 71 entities to its Entity List for supporting Russia’s military or for trying to illegally acquire U.S.-origin goods. The additions include 70 entities based in Russia and one based in Belarus, BIS said, and 66 of them are now subject to BIS’ Russia/Belarus foreign direct product rule. All the entities will require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. No license exceptions will be available, and BIS will review applications under a policy of denial. Exports of certain food and medicine will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, the agency said. The additions, which will be published in the Federal Register June 6, take effect June 2.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week issued an editorial correction for a Russia-related entry on the Entity List. The change fixes the entry for Kaliningradnefteprodukt OOO.
The Bureau of Industry and Security soon will introduce a congressional notification requirement for certain firearm exports, the agency said in a final rule. The change, effective July 18, will add a new section to the Export Administration Regulations that will require congressional reporting for certain semiautomatic firearms shipments valued at $4 million or more and destined to certain countries. The requirement will apply to certain guns whose export control authority was transferred from the State Department to the Commerce Department in 2020 (see 2001170030).
The Bureau of Industry and Security completed an interagency review for a final rule that would make corrections and clarifications to the agency’s Russia and Belarus export controls. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs received the rule May 13 (see 2205160005) and completed the review May 26.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week extended the comment period for an information collection relating to offset agreements worth more than $5 million for sales of weapons systems or defense articles to foreign countries or companies (see 2201130008). Comments on the information collection, originally due March 15, have been extended for an additional 30 days to June 27.
The U.S. plans to build on and improve its export controls and investment screening measures to keep China from acquiring sensitive technologies, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Blinken, in a speech outlining the Biden administration’s China policy, also urged industry to reassess whether the price of doing business in China is worth the benefits and to work with the administration to push back against Beijing's unfair market practices.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, criticized the Bureau of Industry and Security's decision to stop differentiating between emerging and foundational technologies for the purposes of export controls, saying the agency is trying to dodge its statutory responsibility. BIS said last week that the effort to categorize technologies as either emerging or foundational has sometimes delayed the controls, adding that it will instead refer to them as Section 1758 technologies (see 2205200017).
The Bureau of Industry and Security completed an interagency review for a final rule that would introduce a congressional notification requirement for certain weapons exports. The rule, sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs May 17 (see 2205180006) and completed May 24, would require notifications for certain semiautomatic firearms exports under the Export Administration Regulations.
Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said his top long-term priority is building a new multilateral export control regime, and he urged industry to continue considering diversifying away from China and Russia. He also said BIS is working hard to control emerging and foundational technologies and welcomes more input from industry, academia and think tanks.