The Bureau of Industry and Security added 37 Chinese entities to the Entity List for trying to acquire export controlled items for China’s military or quantum technology efforts, helping to ship controlled items to Russia, or for supporting China’s “High Altitude Balloon” program. The additions, outlined in a final rule that was released and took effect May 9, include technology companies, manufacturing firms, research institutions and others. They will be subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under a presumption of denial.

The State Department on April 30 released proposed regulations to implement an exemption from International Traffic in Arms Regulations licensing requirements for Australia and the U.K. under the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) Enhanced Trilateral Security Partnership.

The proposed rule, issued “in the interest of preparing” for a potential determination under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 that Australia and the U.K. have comparable export control systems to the U.S., includes a preliminary list of defense articles and services excluded from eligibility for the new exemption.

It also adds to the scope of the exemption for “intra-company, intra-organization, and intragovernmental transfers to allow for the transfer of classified defense articles to certain dual nationals who are authorized users or regular employees of an authorized user within the United Kingdom and Australia,” and would set new expedited license review procedures for Australia, the U.K. and Canada. Comments are due May 31.

The Bureau Industry and Security on May 30 will begin revoking some export licenses for firearms, and shortening the lengths of others, in line with changes to export controls for firearms made in an interim final rule released April 26.

Scheduled for publication in the April 30 Federal Register, the interim final rule reduces the validity period for most export licenses for firearms from four years to one. It also adopts a license policy of denial for nongovernment end users in 36 “high-risk” destinations for firearms controlled under the Crime Control 2 reason for control, which will now apply to most firearms. Both changes will apply to existing licenses, and BIS will modify and revoke licenses to implement them.

BIS is also adding new ECCNs for semi-automatic firearms, and setting new documentation requirements. The interim final rule will require license applicants to submit import certificates for all countries where one is required by the importing government, as well as a purchase order for all license applications to non-Country Group A:1 destinations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 18 issued an interim final rule that removes some Export Administration Regulations licensing requirements for Australia and the U.K. to facilitate cooperation under the Australia, United Kingdom, United States (AUKUS) Trilateral Security Partnership, among other things. Under the rule, “Australia and the UK will have nearly the same licensing treatment under the EAR as Canada,” BIS said. The changes take effect April 19. Comments on the interim final rule are due June 3.

The U.S. announced new export controls and sanctions against Iran, as well as new export controls against Russia intended to address Iran’s support for Russia’s drone program, in response to Iran’s attack on Israel on April 13.

The Bureau of Industry and Security released a final rule that takes effect April 18 and adds the 39 remaining Harmonized System codes for goods from the Common High Priority List of low-level technologies that could be used in military goods to the Export Administration Regulations. Now all 50 6-digit subheadings in the list are included in the EAR.

The addition of the additional six-digit subheadings expands “the scope of items that require a license for export and reexport to Iran,” as well as the scope of foreign direct product rules on Iran, Russia, Belarus and the occupied Crimea region of Ukraine. A savings clause says goods on the water as of April 18 may still proceed to their destinations without a license.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control concurrently designated 16 individuals and two entities that are involved in “enabling Iran’s UAV production, including engine types that power Iran’s Shahed variant UAVs, which were used in the April 13 attack.” OFAC also sanctioned “three subsidiaries of Iranian automaker Bahman Group,” as well as the Bahman Group itself, for material support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and “other entities designated pursuant to counterterrorism authorities.”

“Concurrent with this action, the United Kingdom is imposing sanctions targeting several Iranian military organizations, individuals and entities involved in Iran’s UAV and ballistic missile industries,” OFAC said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will add 11 parties to the Entity List for trying to ship or procure export-controlled items for Russia, Iran or to support China’s military modernization efforts, the agency said April 10. The additions include technology companies, logistics firms and one person based in either China, Russia or the United Arab Emirates. Effective April 11, the companies are subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed either under a presumption of denial or policy of denial, except for certain food or medicine.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on March 29 released an interim final rule to update, correct and clarify its October 2023 chip controls that placed new restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China. The 186-page rule takes effect April 4 and seeks public comments on the changes by April 29.

The document will make a range of updates and technical corrections to the October rules, including changes related to new License Exception Notified Advanced Computing; revisions to controls on the activities of U.S. persons; new language for electronic items controlled under Export Control Classification Number 3A001; and corrections to certain chip making tools under ECCNs 3B001 and d 3B991. BIS also used the rule to respond to public comments the agency has received during the past year, including on topics related to due diligence and end-user certifications.

The State Department fined Boeing $51 million after the company allegedly violated a range of U.S. export controls, in the largest stand-alone civil fine by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in years. The violations, which mostly occurred before 2020, included illegal exports to foreign employees and contractors working in more than 15 countries; a trade compliance specialist fabricating an export license to illegally ship defense items abroad; and violations of the terms and conditions of other export licenses. Boeing voluntarily disclosed the violations between 2017 and 2022.

As part of a consent agreement released Feb. 29, Boeing must pay $27 million to DDTC within two years and use the remaining $24 million to make specific improvements to its compliance procedures. The company must also hire a DDTC-approved special compliance officer to oversee its compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added two entities to the Entity List for trying to illegally acquire U.S. items or for being involved in other activities that are “contrary” to U.S. national security and foreign policy, the agency said Feb. 26. The entities are China-based Chengdu Beizhan Electronics and Sandvine Incorporated, which has locations in multiple countries. Effective Feb. 27, the companies are subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under a presumption of denial.

BIS also removed one UAE-based Jazirah Aviation Club from the list and modified entries for two existing entities in China to add alias and address information.

The Federal Maritime Commission issued its final rule for new demurrage and detention billing requirements, describing the information carriers and marine terminal operators must include in their invoices, clarifying which parties can be billed and under what time frames, outlining the processes for disputing charges, and more.

The rule, released Feb. 23 and effective May 28, says that invoices can be issued to only the consignee or “the person for whose account the billing party provided ocean transportation or storage” of the cargo and who contracted with the billing party for cargo transportation or storage. The rule will also require ocean carriers and MTOs to issue detention and demurrage invoices within 30 calendar days from when the charges were last incurred, while non-vessel-operating carriers need to issue those invoices within 30 days from the “issuance date” of the invoice they received. Billed parties will have 30 days to request a refund or waiver, and the billing party must try to resolve the issue within 30 days.

The FMC said it hopes the rule leads to “supply chain fluidity” by clarifying the responsibilities and requirements of each party when picking up or returning cargo and equipment. “Failing to include any of the required information in a detention or demurrage invoice eliminates any obligation of the billed party to pay the applicable charge,” the commission said. “The new rule will provide relief to parties who should never have received a bill for detention or demurrage.”

The U.S. announced a new set of sweeping Russia-related export controls and sanctions this week to mark the two-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and to respond to Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny's death in prison. The measures include nearly 100 additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and more than 500 sanctions designations by the Treasury and State departments in what the U.S. said is its largest single tranche of designations since Russia began the war in 2022.

The Entity List additions, effective Feb. 23, target entities in Russia, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for supporting Russia’s defense industrial base, including by illegally shipping U.S. goods to Russia. The Bureau of Industry and Security designated more than 50 of the entities as Russian-Belarusian military end users, and the new entities will be subject to a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. Licenses will be reviewed either under a policy of denial or presumption of denial, with some exceptions for food and medicine.

The new financial sanctions target Russian government officials responsible for Navalny’s death; more than two dozen sanctions evaders in Europe, East Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East; hundreds of companies with ties to Russia’s military-industrial base; parties helping Russia earn revenue from energy sales, and more. The Office of Foreign Assets Control also issued several new general licenses and released new sanctions guidance.

Along with the new restrictions, the U.S., the EU, the U.K. and Japan expanded its list of common high-priority items Russia is seeking to import to now include several new goods, including certain “computer numerically controlled” machine tools. The U.S. also issued a new business advisory to warn companies about Russia-related compliance risks.