Following reports that China is continuing to buy U.S.-made DNA equipment despite U.S. export restrictions, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said the Bureau of Industry and Security needs to strengthen its controls.
The Commerce Department published its spring 2021 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including two new mentions of emerging technology rules and new export controls on certain camera systems.
The Commerce Department is working with a police agency in rural Texas to help investigate illegally exported goods, an unorthodox relationship that has sparked concern among industry lawyers and led to disputed seizures.
As President Joe Biden searches for a leader for the Bureau of Industry and Security, the agency should prioritize candidates who are familiar with export control regulations and who can effectively manage the agency’s licensing process, two technology experts said. But others said Biden should choose a candidate with strong knowledge of the challenges imposed by China to help lead U.S. technology policy through an era of intense competition.
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The Commerce Department is unsure whether the multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement will be able to meet in person this year after the regime’s 2020 plenary was canceled, potentially creating more uncertainty surrounding the group’s next batch of multilateral export control proposals. The agency also still has not made a decision on eliminating electronic export filing requirements for shipments to Puerto Rico, but has made some progress on its long-awaited routed export rule, a Commerce official said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule to reflect the United Arab Emirates formally ending its participation in the Arab League Boycott of Israel. Under the rule, effective June 8, certain “requests for information, action or agreement from the UAE” will not be “presumed to be boycott-related” -- and therefore not restricted or reportable under the Export Administration Regulations -- if they were made before Aug. 16, 2020, BIS said.
A congressional commission said the Commerce Department has “failed” to carry out its export control responsibilities over emerging and foundational technologies, which is hindering the work of other government bodies and allowing some sensitive dual-use technologies to be freely exported from the U.S. The commission said Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which is in charge of the export control effort, has taken “limited action to strengthen or introduce new controls” since its 2018 congressional mandate and should look to other agencies to help with the process.
The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for a North Carolina man after he illegally exported firearms and ammunition to Honduras, BIS said in a May 27 order. Chris Rodriguez was convicted Oct. 18, 2019, for violating the Arms Export Control Act when he tried to ship 27 firearms and “hundreds” of rounds of ammunition without the required State Department licenses. Rodriguez was sentenced to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100 fine. BIS also revoked his export privileges for seven years from the date of his conviction, and revoked any BIS-issued licenses in which he had an interest at the time of his conviction.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a U.S. laser manufacturer $350,000 for illegally exporting laser systems to China, according to a May 28 order. The company, New York-based Photonics Industries International, exported more than 20 “RGH-1064-30 picosecond laser systems” to China in 2014 and failed to apply for the required licenses, which violated the Export Administration Regulations.