The Bureau of Industry and Security issued orders temporarily denying export privileges for three people involved in illegal exports. Irma Lizette Trevizo was convicted April 30, 2019, of conspiring to smuggle firearms and ammunition from the U.S. to Mexico, BIS said in a Jan. 25 order. Trevizo was sentenced to two years in prison, two years of supervised release and a $100 fine. BIS denied Trevizo’s export privileges for 10 years from the date of her conviction.

The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a California business owner $540,000 and suspended his export privileges after he allegedly caused false information to be submitted on controlled exports to Russia, BIS said Jan. 27. The agency said Julian Demurjian, who owned CIS Project, violated the Export Administration Regulations when he provided false values for exports of telecommunication equipment controlled for national security, encryption and anti-terrorism reasons.

Exports to Hong Kong remain eligible for post-departure filings in the Automated Export System despite recent changes to Hong Kong’s export control status, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a Jan. 25 email to industry. NCBFAA said it confirmed with the Census Bureau that the agency will permit the filings, which are available for certain exporters that joined the post-departure filing program before it was closed to new participants. Census recently issued guidance clarifying its reporting requirements for exports to Hong Kong (see 2012300040), despite a December Bureau of Industry and Security rule that removed Hong Kong as a separate destination under the Export Administration Regulations (see 2012220053). A Census spokesperson confirmed that Hong Kong exports will remain eligible for post-departure filings.

The Department of Defense is revising its process for identifying critical technologies that should be subject to export controls after the Government Accountability Office said its current process is too broad and lacks interagency coordination. Although the DOD is tasked with sharing a list of critical technologies with agencies that oversee export controls -- including the State, Commerce and Treasury departments -- officials at all three agencies said they sometimes don’t receive the list. None of the agencies received the list in 2019, the GAO said, even though it could have helped them better protect against trade theft and illegal exports.

The State Department announced penalties on two foreign entities and one foreign official for illegal transfers under the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act. The agency said the three transferred items subject to multilateral control lists that contribute to weapons proliferation or missile production, in a notice. The entities are China-based Ningbo Vet Energy Technology, Ningbo Zhongjun International Trade and their subsidiaries. Also sanctioned was Rim Ryong Nam, a North Korean official based in China and working for North Korea’s Munitions Industry Department. The two entities and the official are barred from purchasing items controlled on the U.S. Munitions List and by the Arms Export Control Act. The State Department also will suspend any current export licenses used by the entities and official and bar them from receiving new export licenses for any goods subject to the Export Administration Regulations. Government agencies are barred from entering into procurement contracts with them. The measures took effect Jan. 13.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on Jan. 19 updated its guidance for exports to military-end users and for end-uses in China, Russia and Venezuela (see 2006290045). BIS said it amended one frequently asked question concerning exports to national police. The agency recently amended the Export Administration Regulations to add a military end-user list, which consists of entities subject to export licensing requirements (see 2012220027).

The U.S. will no longer impose a presumption of denial policy for export license applications for Sudan but will still limit which export license exceptions can be used for those exports, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in a Jan. 19 guidance. The guidance, issued less than a week after BIS amended Sudan’s status to loosen certain restrictions in the Export Administration Regulations (see 2101140018), also covered how BIS will control exports of aircraft, encrypted telecommunication items and anti-terrorism controlled items.

The Trump administration told a number of Huawei suppliers that it planned to revoke their licenses to sell to the company and planned to reject “dozens” of other Huawei-related license applications, according to a Jan. 17 Reuters report. The actions impacted licenses used by Intel, Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Corp and others, the report said. Reuters said the action was taken as about 150 licenses were pending for $120 billion worth of goods and technology, which have been held up due to interagency disagreements. Another $280 billion in license applications have yet to be processed but are “likely” to be denied, the report said. The Commerce Department rejected a “flurry” of Huawei-related license applications last week, and an agency official said the pandemic has contributed to adjudication delays and a backlog of applications (see 2101150062). A Bureau of Industry and Security spokesperson said the agency continues to work with interagency partners to “apply consistently the licensing policies articulated” in the Export Administration Regulations “in a manner that protects U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security added one Chinese entity to its Entity List, another to its Military End User List and removed two Russian entities from the MEU List, the agency said in a final rule. BIS added China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. (CNOOC) to its Entity List for its involvement with China’s militarization of the South China Sea and designated Beijing Skyrizon Aviation Industry Investment Co., Ltd. because of its ties to China’s military. The changes are effective Jan. 14.

The Bureau of Industry and Security announced new controls on technologies and activities that may be supporting foreign military-intelligence end-uses and end-users in China, Cuba, Russia, Venezuela and other “terrorist-supporting” countries. The agency also will bolster controls to prevent U.S. people from supporting weapons programs, weapons delivery systems and weapons production facilities, BIS said in an interim final rule issued Jan. 15. The changes take effect March 16. Comments are due March 1.