The Bureau of Industry and Security added, revised and made technical changes to export controls in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement changes under the 2018 Wassenaar Arrangement (see 2007220015). Per a final rule released Sept. 10, BIS revised 28 Export Control Classification Numbers, altered license exceptions for four ECCNs, made technical changes to eight ECCNs and created one new ECCN for certain masks and reticles used for sensors. The rule follows a May 2019 rule that added controls to five technologies under the 2018 Wassenaar (see 1905220051).

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Sept. 10 dismissed FedEx’s June 24 lawsuit against the Bureau of Industry and Security, saying the company failed to show that BIS was acting outside the authority of the Export Administration Regulations. The court also disagreed with FedEx’s claims that the agency was using the EAR to apply overly burdensome liability standards on carriers and impose penalties even when carriers do not have knowledge of violations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a U.S. company $55,000 for illegally exporting rifle scopes to Canada, a Sept. 3 order said. The company, New York-based Carl Zeiss SBE, LLC, shipped the scopes on 10 separate occasions despite knowing that the exports were subject to the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said. The company did not seek a license from BIS for the shipments, valued at nearly $890,000 combined. Carl Zeiss must pay the fine by Oct. 1 or risk having its export privileges revoked.

A long-awaited rewrite of routed export regulations by the Bureau of Industry and Security and the Census Bureau will introduce a new “Export Responsibility Transfer Agreement” (ERTA) to replace the “writing” currently used to transfer filing responsibilities, with the new agreement specifically transferring filing and licensing responsibilities to the forwarder or agent of the foreign party, said Sharron Cook, a BIS senior export policy analyst, during a webcast of the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference Sept. 3.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public input “on the effectiveness of its licensing procedures as defined in the Export Administration Regulations for the export of agricultural commodities to Cuba,” it said in a notice released Sept. 2. The comments will be used as part of the BIS biennial report to Congress, it said. Comments are due Oct. 5.

Export compliance is never going to be perfect, panelists said, but with constant education, companies can ensure that their mistakes only warrant warning letters, not fines. The American Association of Exporters and Importers held a panel Sept. 1 about how export compliance plays out in the real world.

While industry welcomed the U.S. June decision to allow companies to more easily participate in standards-setting bodies in which Huawei is a member (see 2006160035), the administration should expand the rule to exempt all businesses on the Entity List, companies and trade groups said in comments last month. If the Bureau of Industry and Security does not expand the rule, companies will still be hampered at international standards bodies and could continue to cede technology leadership to China, they said.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs began review of a proposed rule from the Bureau of Industry and Security related to its Strategic Trade Authorization (STA) license exception. The rule, which OIRA received Aug. 27, will clarify the “availability” and expand restrictions on availability of the license exception under the Export Administration Regulations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security released its long-awaited pre-rule for foundational technologies (see 2005190052), asking for industry feedback on the types of technologies BIS should target for potential export controls. The effort, which BIS is pursuing alongside restrictions for emerging technologies, seeks to pinpoint technologies that the agency said may warrant more strict controls.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 60 entities to the Entity List, including 24 entities for helping the Chinese military build artificial islands in the South China Sea. BIS also designated entities in France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates for a range of activities, including illegal exports to Iran, submitting false information to BIS, contributing to Russian biological weapons programs and more. BIS also revised five existing entries under Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran and the UAE.