Commerce Official: BIS 'Behind' on Regulation, Export Controls for Emerging Technologies

During a March 11 program billed as an information session on upcoming export controls on emerging technologies, Department of Commerce officials were unable to give in-depth details, pointing to delays caused by the recent partial federal government shutdown and an overwhelming number of public comments.

In a Nov. 19 notice, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security requested comments “for identifying emerging technologies that are essential to U.S. national security” and to help “identify and describe such emerging technologies.” The notice was part of a larger ongoing regulatory push to propose rules for new Export Control Classification Numbers on the Commerce Control List. But during the program -- hosted by the American Bar Association and titled “BIS and Emerging Technologies Controls: What's Next?” -- Hillary Hess, director of the regulatory policy office for BIS, said she didn’t have many updates. “We are behind where we thought we were gonna be,” she said. “I can't say what the next step is or when it will be.”

Hess -- who was joined by BIS officials Kirsten Mortimer and Nancy Kook -- said the monthlong shutdown, coupled with the volume of submissions, caused delays. Mortimer said BIS received 231 comments, including 215 pages of suggestions on robotics and 220 pages on “position, navigation and timing” equipment. “The shutdown was really not our friend,” Hess said. “We're just really trying to scramble and get everything organized.”

When asked how Commerce plans to approach export controls on artificial intelligence, Hess said she could not get into specifics, and that BIS is still reviewing more than 900 pages of comments on that subject. “We’re at a point where I don’t even know how to comment on that,” she said.

Hess also said BIS does not have a timeline for reviewing all the comments and proposing new regulations. “There is no statutory deadline for this,” she said. “We would like to start getting stuff out to the public this year. But we’re not really operating on any kind of a deadline.”