Lawmakers are drafting legislation to codify the authority that the Office of Information and Communication Technology and Services uses to place import restrictions on Chinese connected vehicles and other technologies, said Jeffrey Kessler, undersecretary of the Bureau of Industry and Security.
The Bureau of Industry and Security plans to soon issue general authorizations for certain Chinese connected vehicle imports, which could offer exemptions for small-scale manufacturers or companies importing items for testing, research or repair, Commerce Department officials said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is reviewing the public comments it received in response to its advance notice of proposed rulemaking on drones, a Commerce Department official said March 18 at the BIS annual update conference.
Two Section 232 investigations launched March 10 by the Commerce Department -- one on copper, the other on lumber -- serve as harbingers of potentially more trade activity to come, attorneys with the law firm Pillsbury said during a webinar on "DC Disrupted: Upcoming Tariffs & Trade Actions," said after notices seeking comments on the investigations had been posted.
Matthew Axelrod, the Bureau of Industry and Security's former export enforcement chief, has joined Gibson Dunn to help lead the firm's new sanctions and export enforcement practice group. Axelrod and former Treasury Department senior adviser Adam Smith will co-chair the new group, which they said will aim to help clients navigate rising export control and sanctions risks.
President Donald Trump's recent expansion of Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs likely would survive a judicial challenge, particularly in light of the string of cases challenging the Section 232 duties imposed during his first term, trade lawyers told us. Thomas Beline, partner at Cassidy Levy, said Trump's move to eliminate the country-specific arrangements and product exclusions is "likely defensible," since the statute lets the president take any action he deems necessary where an agreement is "not being carried out or is ineffective."
Howard Lutnick, whose nomination advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee Feb. 2 with a 16-12 vote, told senators from both parties that, despite the president's announcements that he would have "direct responsibilities over the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative," the scope of responsibilities for the USTR won't change, and his agency will coordinate with others working on trade policy.
Auto sector manufacturers and importers will have 425 days to cut Chinese software that enables automated driving systems or enables a vehicle to connect to the outside world at a frequency above 450 MHz from their supply chains, according to a final rule from the Bureau of Industry and Security set to be published Jan. 16.
BIS has completed a round of interagency review for a rule that would finalize its proposed import restrictions on connected vehicles from China (see 2412190021, 2409220001 and 2410290026). The agency sent the final rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Dec. 17 and completed the review Jan. 7.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is asking for public comments about how BIS regulations on Chinese-made drones, or Chinese components in drones made elsewhere, should be focused, to mitigate the risk of Chinese sabotage or espionage.