The Bureau of Industry and Security is drafting a final rule that would make certain changes to U.S. export controls based on recent decisions made at the multilateral Australia Group. BIS sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Nov. 22.
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is an agency within the Commerce Department responsible for overseeing dual-use export controls outlined within the Export Administration Regulations. BIS says its mission is to protect strategic U.S. industries and prevent illegal transfers of sensitive American technology.
The Bureau of Industry and Security soon will place new export controls over certain scientific testing and industrial processing equipment destined to Pakistan that had not previously faced license requirements, saying the items have been diverted through Pakistan to companies on the Entity List.
Richard Allen, a former Navy officer, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a scheme to steal more than $850,000 worth of military gear and sell it to bidders from China, Russia and dozens of other countries, DOJ announced last week.
An Indian national violated U.S. export controls by lying on at least one export application for dual-use aerospace technology, telling the government the item would be exported to India when he actually planned to send it to Russia, according to a DOJ indictment unsealed last week and the sworn affidavit of a Bureau of Industry and Security special agent.
The U.S. government should create a joint interagency task force led by the national security adviser to develop better ways to prevent China from obtaining sensitive dual-use technology from the U.S. and its allies, a bipartisan congressionally mandated commission said Nov. 19.
The next Trump administration is likely to build on Biden’s outbound investment executive order and semiconductor export controls against China, researchers said last week, and could double down on sanctions against Iran and Venezuela in a return to the “maximum pressure” campaign Trump embraced during his first term.
A New York City-based electronics store was fined $5.4 million by CBP and ordered to forfeit more than $460,000 after it allegedly gave false export information to a freight forwarder and breached record-keeping rules, the Bureau of Industry and Security said last week.
The Commerce Department sent a letter to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ordering it to stop shipments of advanced semiconductors to certain Chinese customers, including 7 nanometer chips or others of “more advanced designs,” Reuters reported Nov. 9. The letter specifically orders TSMC to stop shipments, beginning Nov. 11, destined for Chinese customers of chips that power artificial intelligence accelerator and graphics processing units, the report said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this 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 a Russia-related procurement network; a criminal case where export-controlled items were smuggled outside the U.S. and used in an assassination plot; a penalty against a semiconductor wafer manufacturing company for shipments to a party on the Entity List; violations of BIS antiboycott regulations; and more. “Exporters are encouraged to review the publication, which provides useful illustrations of the type of conduct that gets companies and universities in trouble,” BIS said.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., President-elect Donald Trump’s reported choice to be secretary of state, and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump's selection to be national security adviser, have played active roles on export controls and sanctions while serving in Congress.