The Commerce Department quietly stopped approving new licenses for firearms exports to three Latin American countries months before publicly announcing a broader suspension in October for dozens of other nations.
Exports to China
Risk intelligence firm Kharon has found nearly 700 additional entities that may be subject to sanctions as a result of the more than 200 Russia-related designations announced by the U.S. and the U.K. earlier this month (see 2311020015 and 2311080031). The firm said the additional companies, located across more than 20 jurisdictions, are majority owned by the new U.S.- and U.K.-sanctioned targets but weren’t publicly named in the two governments’ announcements.
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Leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services committees should ensure the upcoming 2024 defense spending bill includes new measures protecting U.S. outbound investments when the two chambers work on a compromise text for the legislation, a bipartisan group of lawmakers said in a Nov. 20 letter. The more than 40 lawmakers suggested the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act should feature an amendment included as part of the Senate’s version of the NDAA, passed in June, that would require companies to notify the Treasury Department 14 days before making certain investments in several “countries of concern,” including China (see 2307260029 and 2307280052).
Gary Locke, former U.S. commerce secretary and ambassador to China, has joined Dorsey & Whitney as a senior advisor in the Seattle office, the firm announced. Locke currently chairs Committee of 100, a "leading organization for Chinese Ameircans," and will help guide Dorsey's international practice, the firm said. Locke has a background in foreign direct investment, export controls, government relations and "cross-cultural diplomacy," the firm said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently made available its process by which companies may begin submitting notifications for certain exports of “gray-zone” semiconductors that fall just below the new chip control parameters announced last month (see 2310170055). As part of the updated restrictions, BIS is requiring a notification under new License Exception Notified Advanced Computing (NAC), which will authorize certain exports of certain chips to China, Macau and destinations subject to a U.S. arms embargo.
Officials from the U.S. and China will meet in January to hold “technical discussions” on ways to better protect trade secrets, the Commerce Department said in a readout of a meeting last week between Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. Commerce said the two countries will bring together “subject matter experts” to talk about “strengthening the protection of trade secrets and confidential business information during administrative licensing proceedings."
An academic and journalists from England and Foreign Policy magazine agreed that President Joe Biden got more out of the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping than Xi did.
DOJ is investigating U.S. chip company Applied Materials for potentially violating export controls against China, company executives said last week. Chief Financial Officer Bryce Hill said the company received a subpoena last year and is “fully cooperating” with the government.
Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba is nixing plans to spin off its cloud computing division due to “uncertainties” caused by recently updated U.S. chip export controls on China. Alibaba was planning to publicly list its Cloud Intelligence Group, a cloud computing services business, but said last week it fears “these new restrictions may materially and adversely affect” the cloud computing division’s “ability to offer products and services and to perform under existing contracts.”