Although there remains a “contentious” debate around how exactly the U.S. should impose export controls on high-end AI chips, White House adviser Jacob Helberg said he believes the Trump administration will find a way to restrict the most sensitive technologies while still making sure the rest of the world relies on AI hardware, software and models exported from the U.S., not from China. Helberg said he expects the administration to provide clearer answers in the coming months.
Ross Kennedy, the founder of an advisory firm who joined the Bureau of Industry and Security in March (see 2504030073), has been named the acting assistant secretary of export enforcement, according to the agency's website and Kennedy's LinkedIn page. The agency is awaiting Senate confirmation for its permanent enforcement chief (see 2507230053). Kennedy, who previously was a BIS senior adviser, replaces John Sonderman, who is listed as the principal deputy assistant secretary for export enforcement.
Chinese semiconductor company Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. accused the Bureau of Industry and Security of illegally withholding documents related to its placement on the Entity List, adding that the government acted on "inaccurate" information from YMTC competitors when it imposed stringent export license requirements on the company in 2022. The firm also questioned whether the End-User Review Committee, the interagency group that makes decisions on adding or removing companies from the Entity List, followed proper protocol when it voted to put YMTC on the list.
Planet Labs, a California-based Earth imaging company, disclosed this month that it has submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to the Bureau of Industry and Security about potential export control violations.
To crack down on Hong Kong’s significant role in sanctions evasion, the U.S. should increase funding for the Bureau of Industry and Security’s budget, pass pending anti-money laundering legislation and sanction banks involved in the Chinese territory’s illicit trade, a Hong Kong expert said Sept. 18.
The Bureau of Industry and Security again renewed temporary denial orders for three Russian airlines accused of violating U.S. export controls against Russia.
The Census Bureau emailed tips on how to address the most frequent message generated this month in the Automated Export System.
The Commerce Department’s spring 2025 regulatory agenda for the Census Bureau includes a new mention of a proposed rule that could require exporters to report the country of origin for certain foreign-produced goods. Census said it will propose a new conditional data element for “country of origin” when the foreign indicator is selected in the Electronic Export Information filed in the Automated Export System. The rule also will propose “remedial changes” to the Foreign Trade Regulations to “improve clarity and to correct errors.” Census had hoped to issue the rule in July. The agency has been studying alternative ways to collect the country of origin information after receiving significant pushback from companies and trade groups that said a new reporting requirement would lead to costly compliance challenges (see 2203160026, 2301230008, 2309130002 and 2403270056).
The Bureau of Industry and Security has removed certain export restrictions from aircraft belonging to Belavia, the state-owned flagship carrier of Belarus, as part of sanctions relief that the Trump administration has offered to the country in recent days.
Beijing criticized the Bureau of Industry and Security's decision last week to add a range of Chinese entities to the Entity List (see 2509120077), saying the U.S. has "generalized national security and abused export controls to impose sanctions on numerous Chinese entities in sectors such as semiconductors, biotechnology, aerospace, and trade and logistics."