The Bureau of Industry and Security recently published the presentation slides from its annual update conference in March. Officials during the conference previewed a spike in export enforcement (see 2503180041 and 2503210030), license requirements (see 2503200043 and 2503180057), due diligence expectations (see 2503240018) and more.

Exporters and other companies could start seeing an uptick in government subpoenas as the Bureau of Industry and Security looks to increase export penalties, industry officials said this week, adding that businesses should make sure they’re scrutinizing transactions and watching for red flags.

The Bureau of Industry and Security reinstated a pause on export license applications last week, four people with knowledge of the situation said, days after officials announced at the agency’s March update conference that licensing was expected to soon return to normal.

Companies moving export-controlled goods should generally require customers to fill out end-user and end-use statements for all transactions, even if the shipments are for less sensitive EAR99 items, Commerce Department officials said.

Senior Bureau of Industry and Security officials haven’t yet been given orders by the Trump administration on several key export control policy issues, including possible plans to soon relax export controls against Russia, multiple Commerce Department officials said last week.

The Commerce Department’s long-awaited proposed rule on routed exports is essentially ready to be published, but it’s unclear how long it may take the new Trump administration to give the agency the green light, officials said last week.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is working on multiple export control-related investigations that could soon lead to public penalties and criminal indictments, Commerce Department officials said last week. They also said BIS is doubling down on Iran-related enforcement as part of the Trump administration's renewed maximum pressure campaign against the country.

It’s still unclear how the Trump administration will approach the Bureau of Industry and Security's artificial intelligence diffusion rule or any of the agency’s recently published proposed or interim final rules that haven’t yet taken effect, a Commerce Department official said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security has begun to experience a significant decline in export license applications for Australia and the U.K. as a result of a rule it issued last year to reduce defense-related licensing requirements for those countries, a Commerce Department official said March 19.

A new automated tool that allows the Bureau of Industry and Security to screen license applications against certain U.S. government intelligence information could lead to an uptick in license denials, a Commerce Department official said.