Technology competition with China, including U.S. foreign direct investment reviews, will be part of the oversight priorities of the Republican-controlled House during the next Congress, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California said last week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security again (see 2209120002) sent a final rule for interagency review that could implement certain export control decisions agreed to at the multilateral Australia Group and place new controls on certain marine toxins, plant pathogens and biological equipment. BIS sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Dec. 7 after previously sending it to OIRA Sept. 9, where it was completed with some changes (see 2209120002). The rule, if published, could finalize May proposed controls on four dual-use biological toxins that BIS said can be weaponized to kill people or animals.
A deal between the U.S. and the Netherlands on new export controls for chipmaking equipment destined for China could come as soon as next month, Bloomberg reported Dec. 7. The U.S. has been working to convince the Dutch to impose similar semiconductor export controls and restrict the ability of Netherlands-based ASML to provide certain advanced equipment to China (see 2211210035). The report said it remains unclear what the potential U.S.-Dutch agreement would mean for ASML’s China sales. Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said Dec. 7 that he remains confident the U.S. will convince allies to impose harsher restrictions against China, and said he respects the Netherlands’ desire to shape its own export control policies (see 2212060059).
The Bureau of Industry and Security's additions to the Entity List this week shows the agency is “constantly monitoring, assessing, and acting to prevent items subject to U.S. law from being diverted to malign purposes,” Undersecretary Alan Estevez said in a press release published by BIS Dec. 8. The agency this week added 24 companies to the Entity List for participating in illegal exports to aid Russia’s military, supply export-controlled items to Iran or support Pakistan’s nuclear activities (see 2212070022).
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week renewed the temporary denial order (TDO) for three U.S. companies for their involvement in illegally exported technical drawings and blueprints to China (see 2206080068). The order, issued in June, was renewed for another 180 days, BIS said Dec. 5, partly because the agency found possible evidence of additional export violations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 24 companies to the Entity List for participating in a range of illegal exports, including efforts to aid Russia’s military, supply export-controlled items to Iran or support Pakistan’s nuclear activities, the agency said in a final rule released Dec. 7. The additions include entities located in Latvia, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. BIS also removed one company from the Entity List.
China has been more receptive to U.S. end-use checks on Chinese entities as a result of a Commerce Department policy change from October, Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said this week. Estevez also said he doesn’t expect any significant revisions to BIS’s most recent chip restrictions on China, and warned that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would spark new, strict U.S. export controls that would cause U.S. companies to lose “billions” of dollars in Chinese business.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will add 24 companies to the Entity List for aiding Russia’s military, supplying export-controlled items to Iran or for supporting Pakistan’s nuclear activities. The additions include entities located in Latvia, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. BIS also removed one company from the Entity List.
The Bureau of Industry and Security extended the comment period for its recently announced chip export controls against China, saying it wanted to give more time for commenters to review the October rule and submit their feedback. Comments were originally due Dec. 12 (see 2210070049) but will now be due Jan. 31, BIS said in a notice released Dec. 5. The new controls, designed to restrict China’s ability to acquire advanced computing chips and manufacture advanced semiconductors, have posed challenges for some in the semiconductor industry and sparked calls for additional guidance (see 2211010042 and 2211150044).
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently revoked export privileges for seven people after they illegally exported or tried to export controlled items from the U.S., including to Mexico and Russia.