The Satellite Industry Association recommends that the National Space Council make regulatory changes to the U.S.'s commercial remote sensing rules and its export control regime for radio frequency (RF) remote sensing satellites and data. In a white paper Oct. 19, SIA said commercial remote sensing rules should change to reflect emerging applications such as RF remote sensing and the use of hyperspectral and short-waved infrared remote sensing. It said the "Fundamental Goal" for language in the national security policy directive adopted in 2003 should be updated to include economic leadership and commercial space innovation. In a separate paper, the industry group said there should be an interagency review of existing International Trafficking in Arms Regulations rules and "a more pragmatic policy and licensing approach" to ITAR, rather than the assumption that all RF remote sensing satellite products for all users and use cases fall under the State Department rules. It said an alternative could be putting RF remote sensing with other space systems without ITAR controls.
Many companies are still trying to assess the “exact implications” of the U.S.’s new export controls on China (see 2210070049) and are hoping guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security provides some answers, said Paul Trulio, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Trulio told Bank of America that the controls are “still in the early stage” and it's too soon to “quantify the impact,” according to an Oct. 19 readout of a call published by the bank.
While the U.S. should pursue a new multilateral export control framework for advanced technologies (see 2206290032), it also shouldn’t lose sight of its trade dialogue with the EU, said Frances Burwell, an Atlantic Council expert, speaking during an Oct. 18 event hosted by the Center for a New American Security. She said both the U.S. and the EU should make sure their Trade and Technology Council “remains a bilateral organization” so they can achieve “concrete” agreements for a range of technology issues.
U.S. semiconductor company Applied Materials expects its fiscal year 2022 fourth quarter sales to drop by about $400 million due to new U.S. export controls on semiconductor technology sold in China (see 2210070049), the company said this month. The company said the change decreased its fourth quarter business outlook for net sales from $6.65 billion to $6.4 billion. “The revised net sales outlook reflects the impact of the new export regulations partially offset by supply chain performance improvements,” it said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week updated its “Don’t Let This Happen To You” guidance with new summaries and case examples of past export control investigations. The guidance now includes new case summaries of violations involving export controls against China, Russia, Iran and other countries.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's new sweeping set of export controls (see 2210070049) will “likely damage” the Chinese semiconductor and advanced computing industries and the U.S. and foreign companies that sell to those sectors, ArentFox said in an Oct. 10 alert. “While that was clearly the point of the new rule, we are expecting total chaos for a while,” the law firm said, adding that there is a “lot to unpack” in the 139-page rule.
The Bureau of Industry and Security should add China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. to the Entity List, China Tech Threat, an organization that advocates for stronger export controls on China, said in an Oct. 4 letter to BIS. The letter points to a potential partnership between Apple and YMTC (see 2209220022), which would “put U.S. and other foreign manufacturers out of business” and will allow China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to move closer to “achieving its objective of forcing companies to turn to China as their prime source for advanced technologies.”
Taiwanese companies are “highly concerned” about a potential overdependence on China’s economy and the possibility of a U.S.-China military conflict,” the Center for Strategic & International Studies said in a new report this week. Because of this, CSIS said, “there is significant support for expanding trade and investment ties” with the U.S. and for maintaining its technological edge through domestic investments and export controls.
Taiwan is “constantly” examining its export controls to make sure they’re capturing sensitive technologies, although it remains unclear if the controls will be discussed within its “Chip 4” alliance with the U.S., South Korea and Japan, a senior Taiwan official said this week. Chen Chern-chyi, Taiwan’s deputy economic affairs minister, said the four countries recently held a preparatory meeting for the alliance, but the group hasn’t yet set a formal agenda or scheduled an official first session, according to an Oct. 5 Nikkei report. He said the alliance is mainly “to work with our partners to form a resilient supply chain.”
The U.S. could issue new export controls on China, including restrictions on technologies used in high-performance computing and advanced semiconductors, as soon as this week, The New York Times reported Oct. 3. The report calls the new measures “some of the most significant steps taken by the Biden administration to cut off China’s access to advanced semiconductor technology,” adding they may include a “broad expansion” of the foreign direct product rule to cover additional Chinese firms.