The Biden administration is close to issuing a new national security memorandum on artificial intelligence, which is expected to address technology security issues surrounding advanced AI models and related software, National Security Council officials said this week.

The EU this week unveiled its 14th sanctions package against Russia for its war on Ukraine, including new due diligence rules for companies with counterparties that may be selling to Russia. The package also includes new measures to prevent sanctions evasion, new import and export controls, a set of servicing restrictions on certain Russian energy shipments, designations of more than 100 people and entities, and more.

The Treasury Department last week issued a set of proposed regulations that could introduce new prohibitions and notification requirements on U.S. investments in China, Hong Kong and Macau as the Biden administration works toward finalizing the new rules before year-end (see 2405080039). The proposed rule, which builds on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking Treasury issued in August (see 2308090066), outlines how the agency would implement new bans on certain types of outbound American investments in China’s semiconductor, quantum and artificial intelligence industries, as well as notification requirements for other, broader investments in China’s chip and AI sectors.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will add three entities linked to Kaspersky, a Russian cybersecurity software firm, to the Entity List for working with Russian military and intelligence services. The agency also will place new restrictions on American companies and people buying or using Kaspersky cybersecurity and antivirus software.

The Federal Maritime Commission launched an investigation on whether ocean carriers are complying with a recent decision giving motor carriers the right to choose their chassis providers in four U.S. markets. The probe could lead to penalties against carriers, the commission said.

A new strategy by the Bureau of Industry and Security to add a set of addresses -- instead of company names -- to the Entity List could lead to screening challenges for exporters, industry officials told the agency this week.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is working on another rule to address some of the comments it received from its updated semiconductor export controls released in October (see 2310170055), said Sharron Cook, a senior BIS export policy analyst.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is hoping to publish a rule this summer that would again update or clarify how export controls apply to releases of technology for standards setting or development in standards organizations, said Hillary Hess, director of the BIS regulatory policy division.

An Oregon-based forwarding company will face a three-year export denial order after it failed to adhere to a 2021 settlement agreement with the Bureau of Industry and Security and continued to violate U.S. export regulations.

The next administration should look to raise criminal penalties for trade theft, broaden the scope of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and refocus its export controls on military technologies to better compete with China, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said this week. ITIF also said the U.S. should push for a new “techno-economic alliance” of key trading partners and develop a new multilateral export control regime focused on semiconductors and artificial intelligence.