The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security added 12 foreign entities or persons to BIS’s Entity List, according to a May 13 notice, including several entities in China. BIS said the additions include four entities with locations in China and Hong Kong, along with two other entities in China and one Pakistani entity and five entities or individuals in the United Arab Emirates. Each is now subject to specific license requirements “for the export, reexport, and/or in-country transfer of controlled items,” BIS said. The 12 "have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests," the agency said in a separate notice.
Aerospace Association Requests More Discussion Before State, Commerce Finalize Space Export Controls
The Aerospace Industries Association asked the Commerce Department for more time before it sets space-related export control regulations, in order to allow for its member companies to have "open discussions with the government," in comments filed in a Bureau of Industry and Security proposed rulemaking regarding the Commerce Control List for munitions. The trade group said it lacked an "industry consensus" on multiple changes being considered. The comments were solicited by State and Commerce after both requested public comments on a proposal for items listed on the U.S. Munitions List in categories IV and XV: launch vehicles and spacecraft. The proposal is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to revive the National Space Council and review space-related export controls (see 1904180014). Comments were due April 22
China’s progress toward its satellite ambitions show the need for stricter export controls, stronger collaboration on those controls with U.S. allies, and more staffing and funding for U.S. enforcement agencies, panelists said during a meeting on U.S. space-related export controls. The discussion, part of a series of panels hosted by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on April 25, was billed as a conversation on China’s military-civil fusion. Lorand Laskai, a researcher at the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology, presented a dire outlook for the state of U.S.-China commercial space competition, saying China poses a major threat to U.S. export controls.
The Trump administration's proposal to transfer firearms-related export controls from the State Department to Commerce would cause significant harm to global security and would loosen necessary controls over dangerous weapons, according to a panel organized by Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif. Speaking at a House office building on April 23, gun-control experts and advocates attempted to debunk the administration's rationalization for transferring authority for gun export controls. Several pointed to the dangers of increased weapons exporting, saying the U.S. could become complicit in killings around the world. Others pointed to lapses in regulations if the changes take effect.
Officials from the State and Commerce departments underscored the importance of open communication and urged industry leaders to submit public comments as the two begin a review of space-related export controls under a Trump administration directive. At the April 17 public meeting at the Department of Commerce, several officials, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, said they were seeking public comments on an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for both State and Commerce, specifically surrounding items listed on the U.S. Munitions List regarding categories IV and XV: launch vehicles and spacecraft, respectively. The notices were issued March 8; comments are due April 22.
SAN ANTONIO -- The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security and the Census Bureau hope to issue their long-awaited proposed regulations on routed export transactions in late spring or early summer, said Sharron Cook, senior policy export analyst at BIS, at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference April 17. When they come out, Cook thinks, export forwarders will see two of their bigger headaches with the current regulations on track for resolution.
SAN ANTONIO -- CBP is combing through its export processes to streamline, automate and harmonize agency review, exams and penalties across the ports, according to Jim Swanson, director of CBP’s cargo and security controls division. Speaking at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference April 17, Swanson said CBP has “incrementally moved the ball” on exports in the past year, but is “on the verge” with “a few things we’re working on diligently.”
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add to the Unverified List 50 entities with addresses in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Thirty-seven of the 50 additions are located in China. The agency's final rule also removes 10 entities and adds one address for a person currently on the list. The Unverified List includes entities for which the U.S. government failed to complete satisfactory end-use checks, and therefore could not verify the entities' bona fides. Additions to the list are as follows:
The Trump administration is expected to complete a review of the current scope of U.S. export controls on countries subject to arms embargoes, including China, and may make potential regulatory changes by May 10, according to an April 5 blog post from Steptoe & Johnson. The administration’s review stems from a section of the 2018 Export Control Reform Act, which requires a “review relating to countries subject to comprehensive United States arms embargo.” The act specifically requires the Commerce, State and Defense departments, among others, to review export controls on trades with “military end uses and military end users,” according to the post.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security would like to increase its funding by about $4 million for export administration (EA), the agency said in its Fiscal Year 2020 budget justification. That new money would be split between "Identifying and Reviewing Emerging Technologies" and "Addressing Increased Foreign Investment Reviews," it said. BIS is asking for funding for 21 new personnel, the agency said.