The U.S. arrested two U.S. citizens and two Chinese nationals last week after accusing them of using a purported Florida real estate firm, an Alabama distributor and nearly $4 million in wire transfers to buy and illegally export “cutting edge” chips to China.
The U.S. should work with its allies to increase export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME), components and services to limit China’s ability to make computing chips, former government officials told lawmakers Nov. 20.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Nov. 20 that he plans to introduce a bill to place subsidiaries on the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List if they're owned 50% or more by companies on that list.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is extending public comment periods for two information collections related to its delivery verification procedures for imports, it said in notices released Nov. 20. The agency previously requested feedback on the collections in July and is now allowing an additional 30 days for comments (see 2507250001).
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, which oversees the Bureau of Industry and Security, introduced a bill Nov. 17 to promote multilateral coordination on export controls for chipmaking equipment.
Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, which oversees the Bureau of Industry and Security, said Nov. 20 that she’s concerned that recent personnel departures at BIS have caused a “talent drain” at the export control agency.
The U.S. plans to allow United Arab Emirates-based AI company G42 and Saudi Arabia-based AI firm Humain to buy the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips, also known as GB300s, the Commerce Department said in a Nov. 19 emailed press release.
Longtime senior Bureau of Industry and Security official Kevin Kurland is leaving the agency next month, multiple people familiar with the matter said. A BIS official said Kurland informed senior agency staff this week that he plans to retire from government before the end of the year.
The U.S. appeared to have underestimated or not understood the impact of the Bureau of Industry and Security 50% rule, especially the volume of license applications the agency was set to receive, said Thea Kendler, former BIS assistant secretary for export administration.
The U.S. government’s “economic statecraft” tools, including export controls and sanctions, are “fragmented” across multiple agencies, and Congress should consider consolidating them into a single entity to increase coordination, focus and accountability, the congressionally mandated U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its new 2025 annual report.