The Bureau of Industry and Security is working on another rule to address some of the comments it received from its updated semiconductor export controls released in October (see 2310170055), said Sharron Cook, a senior BIS export policy analyst.
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued two temporary denial orders last week as part of the Biden administration's latest package of Russia-related sanctions and export controls (see 2406120036), targeting companies and people in the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Turkey and Indonesia for sending export controlled items to Russia.
An Oregon-based forwarding company will face a three-year export denial order after it failed to adhere to a 2021 settlement agreement with the Bureau of Industry and Security and continued to violate U.S. export regulations.
The next administration should look to raise criminal penalties for trade theft, broaden the scope of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and refocus its export controls on military technologies to better compete with China, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said this week. ITIF also said the U.S. should push for a new “techno-economic alliance” of key trading partners and develop a new multilateral export control regime focused on semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's April rule to reduce certain export license requirements for Australia and the U.K. should incorporate some minor changes to clarify what types of exports are covered, the Aerospace Industries Association said in comments to the agency. AIA also asked BIS to clarify whether the new rules will include a transition period and to make sure the changes will be reflected in export filing requirements.
Although the U.S. and the EU have been collaborating more closely on technology export controls and supply chain due diligence laws, there are still “massive questions” about whether those controls will extend to more mature-node semiconductors and how new EU supply chain laws are going to affect companies doing business in Europe, said U.S.-EU trade and security consultant Frances Burwell.
The nearly 700 companies that the Bureau of Industry and Security has flagged for potentially sending export controlled goods to Russia include foreign suppliers in China, Turkey, India and others across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, according to a list obtained by Export Compliance Daily.
U.S. in-house attorneys need to be more vigilant than ever when investigating possible export control violations, lawyers said this week, adding that the risks of a possible civil or criminal penalty for a subpar internal investigation, or for not disclosing a violation quickly enough, are rising.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week updated and added to its Syria-related restrictions under several sanctions regimes, including restrictions related to “foreign sanctions evaders.” The agency also added various definitions and a new general license, along with updating other licenses, including changes to a license that authorizes certain legal services.
A top Treasury Department official this week called on U.S. companies and banks to bolster their trade compliance efforts, saying they need to do more to prevent their customers and counterparties from buying and shipping sensitive items for Russia’s military.