The U.S. announced sanctions on Turkey for buying Russian missile defense systems, saying Dec. 14 the purchases provide “substantial funds” to Russia’s defense sector and harm U.S. national security. The sanctions target Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and several SSB officials, including SSB President Ismail Demir, Vice President Faruk Yigit, and air defense officials Serhat Gencoglu and Mustafa Alper Deniz.
Doug Hassebrock, the Bureau of Industry and Security's top enforcement official responsible for national security issues, retired last month. Hassebrock served as the deputy assistant secretary for export enforcement and left in early November, BIS official Hillary Hess said during a Dec. 8 Commerce Department technical advisory committee meeting. Kevin Kurland, director of BIS’s Office of Export Analysis, is acting in Hassebrock’s role, Hess said. A BIS spokesperson didn’t comment.
The Commerce Department will not publish its long-awaited proposed regulations on routed export transactions (see 2007150044) this year and is experiencing delays on other rules, including another set of export controls from the 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement, a Commerce official said. Hillary Hess, the Bureau of Industry and Security’s regulatory policy director, cited a combination of internal BIS delays and a backlog at the Federal Register for the slowdown.
The Census Bureau received a mixed bag of feedback as it considers whether to eliminate certain filing requirements for exports to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see 2009160033). Many of the U.S. industry groups that submitted comments, released by Census Dec. 2, said the Automated Export System filings are a burden for their members and their elimination is long overdue. But government officials from both the U.S. and Puerto Rico cautioned Census about removing the requirements, saying it could lead to an absence of a vital source of data collection and damage the islands’ economies.
The Bureau of Industry and Security should apply the “minimal” necessary level of export controls on foundational technologies to prevent impacts on U.S. academic research, universities said in comments to the agency. BIS also should reexamine which technologies it defines as “emerging” because some are already commercially widespread, a British aerospace company said.
As China continues to gain ground in technology competition with the U.S., Congress should pursue more investment and visa restrictions to prevent China from accessing sensitive U.S. technologies, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in a Dec. 1 report. Commissioners said China’s access to U.S. technologies is helping it innovate and export surveillance tools and other advanced technologies globally.
The Bureau of Industry and Security expects to roll out a more multilateral approach to export controls under the Joe Biden administration but does not expect any major changes to its China policies or Entity List decisions, a senior Commerce Department official said. The official pointed to the strong bipartisan support among lawmakers for Chinese sanctions and export controls, which likely will continue under a new administration. “I don't see that going away. I think the Hill is engaged. I think at least from what President-elect Biden has announced with his Cabinet, these are folks who are familiar with the national security issues,” the official, who declined to be named in order to speak candidly about BIS, said in an interview last week. “So I don't expect a lot of substantive change.”
Corey Stewart, a trade lawyer and supporter of President Donald Trump who lost a 2018 Senate race in Virginia, was named to a “newly created” senior position in the Commerce Department to oversee export regulations, Reuters said in a Nov. 16 report. Stewart will hold the post of principal deputy assistant secretary for export administration, Reuters said, which is above the post of Matthew Borman, the deputy assistant secretary for export administration. Stewart is being brought in to help “push through hardline policies on China” before the Joe Biden administration takes over, the report said. Stewart is expected to serve in the role until the end of the Trump administration on Jan. 20, 2021. The Commerce Department and its Bureau of Industry and Security did not immediately comment. The announcement came about four months after Rich Ashooh, former Commerce assistant secretary for export administration, resigned in July (see 2007020027).
More than 20 industry groups urged the Bureau of Industry and Security to be cautious as it considers controls over foundational technologies (see 2008260045), saying the wrong approach could stifle innovation, damage U.S. competitiveness and lead to costly shifts in global supply chains. The groups said any new controls should only be imposed after a calculated process with significant input from industry, and should include license exceptions and exclusions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security extended the comment period for an information collection related to foreign importer certificates, end-user certificates, delivery verification certificates and firearms entry clearance requirements, a notice released Nov. 9 said. BIS said it wants more feedback on its collection for import and end-user certificates -- which are “obtained by the foreign importer and transmitted to the U.S. exporter” -- and delivery verification for BIS-controlled items. The agency is also seeking feedback on its information collection for firearms clearance requirements, which have changed due to the recent transfer of certain firearms controls from the State Department. “The Department of Commerce controls the [Commerce Control List] and must now take over this collection of information,” BIS said. The “entry clearance requirements for temporary imports will specify the [Export Administration Regulations] procedures for temporary imports and subsequent exports.” Comments are due Dec. 10.