The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology is extending the comment period for a study on investment, supply chain and marketplace trends in eight emerging technology areas, the agency said in a notice. NIST is specifically seeking feedback to help guide the development of artificial intelligence, the internet of things in manufacturing, quantum computing, blockchain technology, new and advanced materials, unmanned delivery services, IOT and 3D printing. The comments, originally due Jan. 31 but now due Feb. 15, will help inform a NIST report to Congress on those emerging technologies. The Bureau of Industry and Security is studying each of these areas for potential export controls as part of its emerging and foundational technology effort under the Export Control Reform Act (see 2110280040).
The U.S. needs to more aggressively monitor transactions that aren't reported to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., said Nazak Nikakhtar, former acting head of the Bureau of Industry and Security. Nikakhtar, speaking during a Jan. 27 panel discussion hosted by China Tech Threat, said that the transfer of technologies to China, particularly semiconductor production equipment, has allowed it to outpace America in hypersonic missiles and has “placed the U.S. and the world in incredible jeopardy.”
Out of all the government’s export control regulations, two aerospace industry officials said they are spending the most time trying to comply with the Bureau of Industry and Security’s military end-user and end-use rule.
The Bureau of Industry and Security should update its export controls surrounding infrared technologies to allow U.S. companies to better compete with foreign firms, said Mike Muench, CEO of Seek Thermal, a thermal imaging company. Muench, speaking during a Jan. 25 meeting of the Commerce Department’s Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee, said BIS hasn’t “significantly” updated its infrared technology controls since 2005, when the infrared sector was dramatically different. “That was several generations ago, relatively speaking, in the technology space,” Muench said. “We really believe it's time for us to address some of these changes to allow U.S. firms to be more competitive.”
A California-based semiconductor and telecommunications technology company recently received a warning letter from the Bureau of Industry and Security after it voluntarily disclosed possible export violations. The company, Credo, said it “inadvertently provided three evaluation boards of nominal value” to two customers without required export licenses. Credo submitted a final voluntary self-disclosure to BIS in June and received a warning letter in September with no penalties, according to a January Securities & Exchange Commission filing. Credo didn’t say where the customers were located but said it sells its products in Asia, including in markets where “multiple” companies have been added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List or the military end-user list. The company said it’s “in the process” of improving its export compliance policies and procedures but believes it “remedied the deficiencies that resulted in the apparent violations through additional training, system enhancements and enhanced export controls.”
The Commerce Department should publish a list of controlled emerging and foundational technologies 90 days after the Senate confirmation of its Bureau of Industry and Security leader, China Tech Threat's Future of BIS said. Strand Consult operates China Tech Threat, which advocates for stronger export controls on China. Despite congressional pressure (see 2111170064), BIS has repeatedly said it doesn’t plan to publish an exhaustive list of controlled emerging and foundational technologies but rather will issue controls on a continuous basis. A BIS spokesperson didn’t comment.
The U.S. and the European Union should better align their export license exceptions, export controls and policies to avoid “unnecessary friction on trade” between the two sides, particularly surrounding chip equipment, the Semiconductor Industry Association said. The group said American semiconductor companies depend on overseas markets in Europe, and regulatory harmonization could help to “level playing fields with respect to export controls, particularly their scope, application, and enforcement.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for an Idaho resident after the person tried to illegally export firearms from the U.S., BIS said Jan. 20. Khaldoun Hejazi was convicted March 2, 2020, of exporting defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List, which violated the Arms Export Controls Act. Hejazi was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, fined $30,000 and assessed $100. BIS denied Hejazi’s export privileges for five years from the date of conviction.
The U.S. and the European Union should use the Trade and Technology Council to address a host of export control harmonization issues to help ease export compliance challenges for American and European companies, the Information Technology Industry Council said. ITI -- which represents many of the world’s largest technology companies, including Apple, Amazon, Google and Intel -- said an increasing number of export regulations and restrictions are placing too heavy a burden on industry and could impede global innovation.
The U.S. should try to use existing tools to better screen outbound investments rather than create a new investment regime, which could burden American companies and damage U.S. competitiveness, two former U.S. officials and an international investment expert said. But one member of a bipartisan congressional commission said a new outbound investment regime is necessary to better protect U.S. critical technologies and national security.