Japan has begun “internal discussions” on whether it should join the U.S. in imposing export controls on advanced semiconductors and other technologies destined to China, Nikkei reported Nov. 1. Officials in Tokyo are “weighing which restrictions can be adopted in Japan, and will watch how other U.S. allies such as the European Union and South Korea respond,” the report said. Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez recently said he’s confident U.S. allies will eventually impose similar controls (see 2210270047), which set sweeping new license restrictions to limit China’s ability to acquire advanced computing chips and manufacture advanced semiconductors (see 2210070049).

The Bureau of Industry and Security recently posted a written version of its Oct. 13 live briefing on its new China-related export controls (see 2210130009 and 2210070049). The document includes BIS's rationale for imposing the new restrictions, an overview of what the license requirements cover and some "general" questions and answers.

The Biden administration is discussing new export controls to further limit China’s ability to acquire powerful emerging computing technologies, Bloomberg reported Oct. 20. The discussions, which are at an “early stage,” could lead to new controls on quantum computing technologies and artificial intelligence software, the report said, and industry experts are providing input on “how to set the parameters of the restrictions.” The White House and Commerce Department didn’t comment.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 19 completed interagency review for a final rule that would implement certain export control decisions made during the 2021 Wassenaar Arrangement cycle. The rule, sent for review Aug. 4 (see 2208080021), will revise the Commerce Control List and corresponding parts of the Export Administration Regulations, including License Exception Adjusted Peak Performance, BIS said.

Many companies are still trying to assess the “exact implications” of the U.S.’s new export controls on China (see 2210070049) and are hoping guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security provides some answers, said Paul Trulio, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Trulio told Bank of America that the controls are “still in the early stage” and it's too soon to “quantify the impact,” according to an Oct. 19 readout of a call published by the bank.

The Satellite Industry Association recommends that the National Space Council make regulatory changes to the U.S.'s commercial remote sensing rules and its export control regime for radio frequency (RF) remote sensing satellites and data. In a white paper Oct. 19, SIA said commercial remote sensing rules should change to reflect emerging applications such as RF remote sensing and the use of hyperspectral and short-waved infrared remote sensing. It said the "Fundamental Goal" for language in the national security policy directive adopted in 2003 should be updated to include economic leadership and commercial space innovation. In a separate paper, the industry group said there should be an interagency review of existing International Trafficking in Arms Regulations rules and "a more pragmatic policy and licensing approach" to ITAR, rather than the assumption that all RF remote sensing satellite products for all users and use cases fall under the State Department rules. It said an alternative could be putting RF remote sensing with other space systems without ITAR controls.

While the U.S. should pursue a new multilateral export control framework for advanced technologies (see 2206290032), it also shouldn’t lose sight of its trade dialogue with the EU, said Frances Burwell, an Atlantic Council expert, speaking during an Oct. 18 event hosted by the Center for a New American Security. She said both the U.S. and the EU should make sure their Trade and Technology Council “remains a bilateral organization” so they can achieve “concrete” agreements for a range of technology issues.

U.S. semiconductor company Applied Materials expects its fiscal year 2022 fourth quarter sales to drop by about $400 million due to new U.S. export controls on semiconductor technology sold in China (see 2210070049), the company said this month. The company said the change decreased its fourth quarter business outlook for net sales from $6.65 billion to $6.4 billion. “The revised net sales outlook reflects the impact of the new export regulations partially offset by supply chain performance improvements,” it said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security last week updated its “Don’t Let This Happen To You” guidance with new summaries and case examples of past export control investigations. The guidance now includes new case summaries of violations involving export controls against China, Russia, Iran and other countries.

The Bureau of Industry and Security's new sweeping set of export controls (see 2210070049) will “likely damage” the Chinese semiconductor and advanced computing industries and the U.S. and foreign companies that sell to those sectors, ArentFox said in an Oct. 10 alert. “While that was clearly the point of the new rule, we are expecting total chaos for a while,” the law firm said, adding that there is a “lot to unpack” in the 139-page rule.