South Korean chip companies are dealing with significant “uncertainty” stemming from U.S. chip controls issued in October against China (see 2210070049) and are concerned about the looming expiration of a one-year authorization from the Commerce Department, a Korean economic security expert said last week. Although Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said the agency is working with Korean companies on potentially extending certain aspects of the authorization, details of those conversations remain unclear.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a temporary denial order last week suspending the export privileges of Russian company Radiotester OOO and owner Ilya Balakaev for illegally shipping “counterintelligence items” to Russia and North Korea. The denial order was released alongside a DOJ indictment charging Balakaev for smuggling devices used in foreign counterintelligence and military operations from the U.S. to Russia and “for the benefit” of Russia’s Federal Security Service and North Korea. Both Radiotester and Balakaev will be subject to a 180-denial order, barring either from exporting items or participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations.
The U.S. announced a new, sweeping set of export controls and sanctions last week to further hobble Russia on the one-year anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, including additions to the Entity List, an expansion of industry sector restrictions on both Russia and Belarus, new export controls against Iran to address its drone transfers to Russia, and new financial sanctions against more than 100 people and entities. Many of the measures, which were announced alongside similar actions by U.S. G-7 allies, aim to “cut off the Russian defense industrial base and military from even low-technology consumer items,” the Bureau of Industry and Security said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced a range of updates to its export regulations stemming from agreements made during the 2021 Wassenaar Arrangement plenary meeting, including revisions to the Commerce Control List and the license exceptions Adjusted Peak Performance (APP) and Strategic Trade Authorization (STA). The agency also made several corrections to the Export Administration Regulations, including to align the scope of its Significant Item (SI) license requirements throughout the EAR.
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced a host of new export control actions aimed at further limiting Russia from sustaining its war effort against Ukraine, including additions to the Entity List, an expansion of the agency’s industry sector restrictions on both Russia and Belarus and new export controls against Iran to address its drone transfers to Russia. The measures, effective Feb. 24, add 86 new entities to the Entity List; place additional restrictions on commercial, industrial and luxury goods; impose new license requirements on “low-technology” items destined to Iran; create a new Iran Foreign Direct Product Rule, and more.
Japan and other G-7 countries should use the group’s trade ministers meeting later this year to push for a common set of export control standards across member states, which could help allied export control systems better respond to modern security and human rights issues, export control and technology policy experts said. In comments recently submitted to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the experts said plurilateral controls by G-7 countries and other like-minded “techno-democracies” can address some issues the existing multilateral control regimes are hindered from tackling because of Russia’s membership (see 2211210005 and 2009290042).
House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans are asking the Bureau of Industry and Security for information on its export enforcement and compliance efforts involving China, including steps to crack down on Chinese transfers of controlled U.S. technology to State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSTs). In a letter sent to BIS last week, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, chair of the committee, said he is concerned China’s “economic and trade ties” with terrorism sponsors is “undermining U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.” He and Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., asked BIS to provide information on recent Chinese export violations, licensing procedures, end-use checks and more by March 2.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will expedite export license applications for items related to humanitarian and earthquake relief efforts in Turkey and Syria, BIS announced Feb. 17. Although most aid-related items don’t require a license under the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said it will fast-track any items that do, including heavy equipment, telecommunications hardware and software, portable generators, medical devices, water purification equipment, sanitation equipment and shelter materials.
As U.S. government regulators continue to face pressure from Congress to more quickly place export restrictions on emerging technologies, the Commerce Department and industry officials are grappling with the potential ethical consequences of controls on a technology that could have groundbreaking medical benefits.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on the “effectiveness” of its licensing procedures for exports and reexports of agricultural goods to Cuba, the agency said in a notice this week. BIS will use the comments as it prepares a biennial report to the Congress on its Cuba-related export licensing, per the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, which requires BIS to report on licensing procedures for the period Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2022. The report must include information on the number and types of licenses applied for, the number and types of licenses approved, the average amount of time elapsed from the license’s filing date until its approval date, and a “description of comments received from interested parties,” BIS said. Public comments, due March 20, should be “as specific as possible,” the agency said.