The U.S. is planning more export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing items destined to China and could publish them as early as next month, Bloomberg reported March 10. The new restrictions could “double the number of machines” that require export licenses, the report said, placing new controls on Applied Materials and other chip equipment makers. The Biden administration plans to coordinate the new restrictions with the Netherlands and Japan, but “doesn’t plan to water down its plans if those other nations adopt weaker guidelines,” the report said.
Shipments of export-controlled technologies from the U.S. and its allies to Russia have dropped nearly 50% by value since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, said Thea Kendler, the Bureau of Industry and Security’s assistant secretary for export administration. Kendler, speaking during a conference last week hosted by the Association of Women in International Trade, touted the impact of export restrictions imposed by Japan, the U.K., South Korea and other nations she said are part of the Global Export Control Coalition (GECC), adding that the controls have led to the “severe deterioration” of Russia’s ability to sustain its military.
Officials from South Korea, Japan and the Biden administration met in Hawaii, the White House said Feb. 28, and talked about how to increase supply chain resilience "in semiconductors, batteries, and critical minerals." The officials also talked about how to coordinate on measures to protect sensitive technologies, the readout said.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week finalized its first reorganization rule for its defense trade regulations (see 2203220013), addressing some commenters’ concerns and recommendations. But DDTC didn’t make many substantial changes in the final rule, which takes effect Feb. 27, saying it would consider some revisions in future rulemakings and stressing that this rule was “focused on movement and consolidation” of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
The proposed Chip 4 Alliance of the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (see 2212280035 and 2210050009) likely will not be enough to keep U.S. semiconductor technology ahead of China, one lawmaker and several experts said during a Feb. 22 event hosted by the Atlantic Council. For the U.S. to achieve true multilateral chip cooperation, including with the EU, experts said, the U.S. may have to settle for watered-down restrictions.
Top Chinese academics believe the country should “amass a portfolio of patents that govern the next generation of chipmaking” to allow the country to counter U.S. semiconductor export controls, according to a Feb. 20 Bloomberg report. The report cites a bulletin recently published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the country’s “most influential scientific body,” which could represent China’s plan to evade U.S. export restrictions and demonstrate how it “could win a crucial technological conflict with Washington,” the report said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will expedite export license applications for items related to humanitarian and earthquake relief efforts in Turkey and Syria, BIS announced Feb. 17. Although most aid-related items don’t require a license under the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said it will fast-track any items that do, including heavy equipment, telecommunications hardware and software, portable generators, medical devices, water purification equipment, sanitation equipment and shelter materials.
The State Department sent an interim final rule for interagency review that would seek public comments on revisions to the U.S. Munitions List. The rule, sent for review Feb. 2, would request feedback “regarding the technology frontier,” which could help the agency identify specific technology capabilities that have “sufficiently evolved” to consider amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The State Department would revise and exclude entries on the USML that “no longer warrant inclusion” and “add entries for critical and emerging technologies that do.”
U.S. leaders “must act” to ensure America remains competitive in the emerging biotechnology sector, including through trade restrictions and other controls, the Center for New American Security’s new Biotech Task Force said in a “statement of purpose” this week. In an emailed news release, the task force said the U.S. must constrain “harmful tech development by certain actors with updated mitigation strategies,” including ones that use “export controls and investment restrictions.” The strategies should also include “updating regulations, forging collaboration with trusted international partners, and reinforcing international law and norms.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security scheduled a temporary outage of its Simplified Network Application Process – Redesign (SNAP-R) system for the weekend of Feb. 4-5 as the agency completes the transfer of data and connectivity points for the system software. “BIS regrets the inconvenience to users due to this necessary outage,” it said.