The Transportation and Related Equipment Technical Advisory Committee is considering asking the Bureau of Industry and Security for more Russian export control guidance and is hoping to help address the agency's backlog of military end-user license applications, said committee Chair Ari Novis, chief global trade officer for Pratt & Whitney.
After a thermal imaging industry official this week said the Commerce Department hasn’t significantly updated its export controls surrounding infrared technologies since 2005 (see 2201260047), an agency spokesperson pointed to two recent regulatory actions that they said have updated controls.
The Commerce Department’s Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee submitted three Wasseanar proposals to Commerce to consider for the 2022 cycle, including two updates to previously submitted proposals. The proposals, which involve Category 6 items (sensors and lasers) on the Commerce Control List, include diode laser bar controls (6A005.d.1.c.1), an updated proposal for green lasers (6.A.5.b.3.a.2) and an updated proposal for certain semiconductor lasers (6.A.5.d.1.a), the committee said during a Jan. 25 meeting.
A Commerce Department technical advisory committee is considering proposing an exception for U.S. deemed export regulations to allow U.S. businesses to better compete with foreign companies. The potential exception, which hasn’t been finalized but was discussed during a July 27 meeting of the Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee, would authorize certain deemed exports to company employees, contractors or interns if the items are for “internal company use.” Committee members said the exception wouldn’t be eligible for deemed exports to foreign nationals from Country Groups E:1 and E:2, which includes Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria.
Semiconductor industry officials are preparing to push for export control modernization over certain electronics on the Commerce Control List, which they say will help controls avoid unintended consequences on U.S. companies and more accurately reflect national security concerns. The effort, led by the Semiconductor Industry Association, will look to convince the Bureau of Industry and Security to update certain control parameters and definitions, and make technical changes in Category 3 of the CCL, which officials view as out of date.
The Bureau of Industry and Security scheduled a meeting of the Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee for Sept. 17 at 10 a.m., it said in a notice. The Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee will meet at 10 a.m. on Sept. 15, BIS said in another notice. Both meetings are via teleconference.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is preparing to issue several additional export controls over emerging technologies and is finalizing a long-awaited advance notice of proposed rulemaking for foundational technologies, BIS officials said. The emerging technology controls will be released “within the next few weeks,” an official said, while the foundational technology ANPRM will soon be sent for interagency review and for feedback by technical advisory committee members before being publicly released.
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing “significant disruption” for the Wassenaar Arrangement, leading to the cancelation of at least one meeting and creating uncertainty about whether the group can remotely vote on new export controls, two Commerce Department officials said. Wassenaar was forced to cancel its April Experts Group meeting -- which normally addresses issues related to its lists of controlled items -- and is unsure if global travel restrictions will force cancellations of future meetings in June and its annual plenary session in December.
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security is working on guidance to help industry comply with the expanded licensing requirements for exports to China announced earlier this week (see 2004270027). The guidance will address new restrictions on exports intended for military users and uses, said Matt Borman, Commerce deputy assistant secretary for export administration. The rule expands the definition for military end-use and will cover military end-users in China, placing more of a compliance burden on industry.
A top Commerce Department official tempered fears that the U.S. wants to stifle industry competitiveness (see 2003100044 and 2002180060) as it considers further restricting exports to Huawei and China, saying that is not the administration's goal. “Why would you restrict a U.S. company if you're only going to be enabling their competitor?” said Rich Ashooh, Commerce’s assistant secretary for export administration. “That’s a very important principle to engage in.”