The Bureau of Industry and Security on Aug. 17 released a correction to its final rule last week that expanded the scope of its nuclear-related export controls on China and Macau (see 2308110019). BIS said there was an "inadvertent error in one of the regulatory instructions for that rule," and the notice issued by BIS this week "corrects that inadvertent error."
President Joe Biden this week extended a national emergency that authorizes certain export control regulations, the White House said. Biden renewed the emergency for one year beyond Aug. 17.
The Bureau of Industry and Security concluded a round of interagency review for a final rule that could expand nuclear nonproliferation export controls on China and Macau. BIS sent the rule for review July 24 (see 2307260008), and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs said it was sent back Aug. 7 with some changes.
China will soon impose export controls on certain unmanned aerial vehicles and related equipment in what is said is an effort to safeguard its national security. The restrictions, effective Spet. 1, will cover certain UAVs and their engines, infrared imaging equipment, radars, lasers, radio communication equipment, jamming equipment and more, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced July 31, according to an unofficial translation. It added that “all other civilian drones that are not included in the control are prohibited from being exported for military purposes.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security chose not to penalize U.S. hardware supplier MaxLinear after it voluntarily disclosed potential export control violations, the company said in a recent SEC filing. MaxLinear said it received a warning letter from BIS June 8 and was informed by BIS that the agency “closed out its review of our voluntary self-disclosure without monetary or other penalties.” MaxLinear disclosed the potential violation last year when it said it may have breached U.S. export licensing requirements by selling to a Chinese foundry on the Entity List (see 2211070014 and 2305020008).
Fried Frank law firm last week released its 2023 International Traffic in Arms Regulations Enforcement Digest, providing a “legal and compliance practitioner's reference guide” on ITAR enforcement. The document includes an overview of recent and past ITAR penalties, including actions taken this year against American 3D printing company 3D Systems (see 2302270078) and U.S.-based telecommunications company VTA Telecom (see 2305310040). The document also includes a table of various enforcement actions, dating to 2001, grouped with the penalty issued in the case, the U.S. Munitions List Categories involved, the countries involved and the number of violations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is drafting a final rule to expand its nuclear nonproliferation controls on China and Macau. The agency sent the rule for interagency review July 24.
The U.S. “should move more quickly” to establish a new multilateral export control forum to restrict high tech exports to China now that the Wassenaar Arrangement has become less effective, said William Reinsch, a former Commerce Department official and current Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Reinsch said “multilateralism is the only viable approach to high-tech export controls,” adding that “existing structures are not adequate to the task” and must be replaced by other means for the U.S. and its trading partners to coordinate.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's recently issued guidance for medical-related export license applications (see 2307210019) is a “welcome development” and should be reviewed by exporters submitting applications for medical items to Russia, Belarus and certain regions of Ukraine, Baker McKenzie said July 19. But the firm also said exporters may not always be able to meet all the criteria outlined in the guidance, which offers best practices for the type of information applications should include, such as end-use or end-user statements, a narrow transaction scope and specific descriptions of the items.
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review that would implement export control changes and updates agreed to during the 2022 Wassenaar Arrangement. The rule was sent for review July 18 and would amend the Export Administration Regulations and Commerce Control List.