The O-RAN Alliance and two of its members said they resolved issues about possible ramifications of the U.S. decision to list three Chinese alliance members on the Commerce Department's entity list. Equipment vendors Nokia and Ericsson had halted activities with the alliance over concerns about possible penalties (see 2109030053). The alliance said Sept. 13 its board "approved changes to O-RAN participation documents and procedures." It's up to individuals members "to make their own evaluation of these changes, [but] O-RAN is optimistic that the changes will address the concerns." The alliance didn't comment on what the changes were. Ericsson told us Tuesday it's now "satisfied" the alliance "found a solution that resolves the issue." Nokia said Wednesday it's "delighted" the alliance's work can now continue and will resume its technical contributions.
Two members of an open radio access network alliance have halted activities over concerns about possible ramifications of the U.S. decision to place three Chinese alliance members on the "entity list" of enterprises deemed security risks. Ericsson and Nokia responded that they remain committed to the project. Resolving the issue could require the O-RAN Alliance to throw out its Chinese members or have the U.S grant an exception, we were told last week.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., pressed the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security Wednesday for details on its implementation of a final rule that adds Huawei non-U.S. affiliates to the bureau’s entity list, replaces a general license with a more restrictive authorization and expands the scope of its foreign direct product rule constricting the company’s ability to procure items that are the direct product of U.S. tech. “My staff has reviewed evidence suggesting possible non-compliance with” the final Huawei rule, Wicker wrote acting Undersecretary-Industry and Security Jeremy Pelter. Wicker said BIS officials claimed they couldn’t disclose information Wicker’s office sought on the implementation process because it’s covered under the 2018 Export Control Reform Act. That information “neither focused on any particular company’s compliance nor could have resulted in a breach of confidentiality for a company under investigation,” Wicker said. He sought information by Aug. 16 on how many companies have “sought a license to ship to Huawei or its affiliates,” how many of those applications BIS has processed and how many it has denied. BIS didn’t comment.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security added 34 organizations to its entity list for tighter export restrictions, said Friday's final rule. Fourteen are based in China and “have enabled Beijing’s campaign of repression, mass detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of other Muslim minority groups," said Commerce. Another five were “directly supporting" China's "military modernization programs," it said. A Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, anticipating the BIS action, told a news conference Friday in Beijing that this list "is in essence a tool for suppressing specific companies and industries in China under the pretext of human rights."
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security added four Myanmar organizations to BIS' entity lists Tuesday for their support of the Ministry of Defense, including through providing telecom services. The companies “pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved” in activities contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, BIS said. BIS also added telecom company King Royal Technologies to the list for providing satellite communication services for the Myanmar military. King Royal didn't reply to an email sent to an address that has been associated with the company. The moves help bar the companies from doing business with U.S.-affiliated businesses.
Intel “generally” opposes U.S. imposition of “unilateral export controls” on foreign tech companies suspected of threatening U.S. national security, said Tom Quillin, senior director-security and trust policy, at a virtual forum convened Thursday by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to identify risks in the semiconductor supply chain. BIS said it will use feedback from the forum, plus comments received in its notice of inquiry, to help shape recommendations to the White House on President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order to relieve supply chain bottlenecks (see 2103110054). BIS export restrictions “place undue hardship on U.S. semiconductor companies, especially when similar items are available in foreign markets,” said Quillin. “The foreign availability of products and technology typically leads to the substitution of U.S-origin products and technology for comparable non-U.S.-origin items that are not similarly controlled.” He avoided mention of Huawei and other Chinese companies on the BIS Entity List.
President Joe Biden's FY 2022 discretionary budget request, released Friday, asks Congress to give the Commerce Department $11.4 billion, up almost 28% from what it received for FY 2021. The money includes $39 million to NTIA "for advanced communications research," to "support the development and deployment of broadband and 5G technologies by identifying innovative approaches to spectrum sharing," the White House said. The request "ensures Commerce has additional staff and resources to analyze export control and Entity List proposals, enforce related actions, and implement executive actions related to export controls and secure telecommunications." The budget would give the National Institute of Standards and Technology $916 million, up 16% from FY 2021, the White House said. That would help NIST spur research into "computing, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, quantum information science ... and to establish prize competitions to pursue key technology goals." Biden is seeking $2.1 billion for the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an almost 6% boost. CISA got increased scrutiny for the 2020 SolarWinds cyber hack (see 2104060058). "This funding would allow CISA to enhance its cybersecurity tools, hire highly qualified experts, and obtain support services to protect and defend Federal information technology systems," the White House said. "The discretionary request also provides $20 million for a new Cyber Response and Recovery Fund." The request includes $500 million for the General Services Administration’s Technology Modernization Fund to “strengthen federal cybersecurity and retire antiquated legacy technology systems.” The TMF request “builds on” $1 billion provided in the American Rescue Plan Act, the White House said. The request shows a "commitment to improve cybersecurity" and "invest in researching and developing modern technologies," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo suggested her agency has no plans to remove Huawei from the Entity List and said Wednesday she will aggressively use trade tools to compete with China. But she also said she will prioritize efforts to invest in U.S. technology industries over imposing more export restrictions. “My broad view is what we do on offense is more important than what we do on defense,” Raimondo told reporters. “To compete in the long run with China, we need to rebuild America in all of the ways we're talking about.” She said U.S. offensive tools include investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing. But defensive tools may be necessary to address China’s “uncompetitive, coercive and underhanded” actions, she said, and Commerce will continue to maintain restrictions against Huawei. “A lot of people have said, is Huawei going to stay on the Entity List?” she said. “I have no reason to believe that they won't.” Commerce added seven Chinese supercomputing entities to the Entity List early Thursday, allegedly for activities that are contrary to U.S. “national security or foreign policy interests.” They were: Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance IC Design Center, Sunway Microelectronics, and Chinese national supercomputing centers in Jinan, Shenzhen, Wuxi and Zhengzhou. “These entities are involved with building supercomputers used by China’s military actors,” said Commerce. The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry didn’t comment.
The Commerce Department should expand export restrictions on China’s top chipmaker to prevent it from accessing more manufacturing equipment, wrote Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. Their letter last week to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo asked the agency to apply the foreign direct product rule to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., which would restrict the company’s ability to import certain foreign-made semiconductor equipment with U.S. technology. SMIC would face similar restrictions imposed by the Bureau of Industry and Security on others on the entity list, including Huawei. The department and SMIC didn't comment Monday.
The House voted 220-211 Wednesday to approve Senate-passed changes to the American Rescue Plan Act COVID-19 budget reconciliation package (HR-1319), paving the way for emergency E-rate remote learning money. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. It includes $7.17 billion for E-rate, $10 billion for state-level broadband and other infrastructure projects, and $175 million for CPB (see 2103080057). Deputy commerce secretary nominee Don Graves, meanwhile, cited his interest in increasing rural broadband deployments during a Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing.