The Bureau of Industry and Security received more than 150 questions ahead of its Oct. 13 public briefing on its new China-related export controls (see 2210070049) and plans to issue guidance for the restrictions on a rolling basis, senior BIS official Thea Kendler said during the briefing. She said guidance will include frequently asked questions that the agency will look to continually update on a “rolling” basis. “Let me assure you that we understand the need for speed in issuing FAQs,” Kendler said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is "undertaking a vigorous outreach effort" to educate companies on the broad China-related export controls announced last week (see 2210070049) and plans to issue guidance soon, a Commerce Department spokesperson said Oct. 12. That guidance will likely take the form of frequently asked questions, the spokesperson said. The agency is also hoping its Oct. 13 public briefing helps answer some industry questions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week announced a broad set of new export controls it said will restrict China’s ability to acquire advanced computing chips and manufacture advanced semiconductors. The controls, outlined in an interim final rule that will take effect in phases, will impose new restrictions on a range of advanced computing semiconductor chips and semiconductor manufacturing items, impose controls on transactions for supercomputer end-uses and certain integrated circuit end-uses, and introduce new restrictions on transactions involving certain entities on the Entity List.
The U.S. could issue new export controls on China, including restrictions on technologies used in high-performance computing and advanced semiconductors, as soon as this week, The New York Times reported Oct. 3. The report calls the new measures “some of the most significant steps taken by the Biden administration to cut off China’s access to advanced semiconductor technology,” adding they may include a “broad expansion” of the foreign direct product rule to cover additional Chinese firms.
If Republicans retake control of the House after the midterm elections in November, the chamber’s Foreign Affairs Committee will initiate a review of the Bureau of Industry and Security and its export control procedures, said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. McCaul said the review would examine BIS’ progress in restricting emerging and foundational technologies under the Export Control Reform Act and study whether U.S. export control authority should be moved to a different agency.
More exporters should make use of License Exception STA (Strategic Trade Authorization), which could reduce workload for the government and allow certain exports to move faster, officials from the Commerce and Defense departments said. “Frankly, it's not utilized as much as we would like it to be utilized,” Matt Borman, an official with Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, said during a Sept. 27 defense industry conference hosted by IDEEA. “To anyone who's considering STA-eligible exports, please, please use them as opposed to having your U.S. supplier come in and go through the traditional licensing process.”
A new Commerce Department rule aimed at making it easier for certain U.S. technologies to be shared at standards-setting bodies will “undermine” U.S. efforts to protect those sensitive technologies from being acquired by China, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said. Although the rule, issued last week (see 2209080038), sought to allow the participation of U.S. companies in international standards bodies that have members on the Entity List, McCaul said it also undermines U.S. export restrictions. “Companies that are entity-listed are threats to national security, and we need real safeguards to ensure sensitive technology is not transferred to these bad actors,” said McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
After several years of delays, Commerce Department officials said industry may soon see progress on the agency’s long-awaited routed export rule. Although the rule is unlikely to be published this year, officials this week said they are hoping to prioritize the effort in the coming months, which could include major changes to the process around assigning filing responsibilities to forwarders and address information sharing among parties in routed export transactions (see 2006020049).
The Commerce Department is planning to expand export controls over certain semiconductor items destined to China (see 2208010011) next month, including those used for artificial intelligence and chipmaking tools, Reuters reported Sept. 11. Commerce already outlined some new restrictions in letters earlier this year to KLA, Lam Research and Applied Materials, Reuters said, which include new export licensing requirements on chipmaking equipment to Chinese factories capable of making chips more advanced than 14 nanometers. The new rules would also codify restrictions outlined by Commerce in letters to NVIDIA and AMD last month (see 2209010059), the report said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on potential export controls over certain instruments for the automated synthesis of peptides, the agency said in an advance notice of proposed rulemaking this week. The agency, which has been drafting the ANPRM since at least June (see 2206270007 and 2208290019), said automated peptide synthesizers may warrant export restrictions as foundational or emerging technologies because of their potential impact on American national security. Comments are due Oct. 28.