The Bureau of Industry and Security needs to “answer to Congress immediately” if U.S. software company Synopsys was able to illegally export semiconductor design software to blacklisted Chinese companies, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said. McCaul -- referencing a report this week that said BIS is investigating Synopsys for potentially transferring technology to China’s HiSilicon and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (see 2204140057) -- said the agency needs to do a better job of preventing illegal exports on the front end.

The Commerce Department is investigating U.S. software company Synopsys for possibly violating U.S. export controls against China, Bloomberg reported April 13. Commerce is looking into whether Synopsys, the world’s leading supplier of semiconductor design software, worked with Chinese affiliates to provide chip designs and software to Huawei Technologies’ HiSilicon unit for manufacture at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the report said. Both companies are subject to Entity List licensing restrictions.

Although the Bureau of Industry and Security hasn’t yet announced any enforcement actions against lessors or financers of restricted Russian aircraft, those parties still face significant compliance risks, Katten said in an April 8 alert.

The Bureau of Industry and Security last week added Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland to the list of countries that have imposed similar export controls against Russia and are excluded from certain license requirements under two recently issued foreign direct product rules (see 2202240069). The additions take effect April 12. BIS previously added South Korea to the list (see 2203040075), which has more than 30 countries.

Australia will soon ban exports of luxury goods to Russia, following similar export restrictions by the U.S. and EU (see 2203110056 and 2203150027). The ban, which takes effect April 7, will apply to a range of goods, including wine, high-value cosmetics and parts for luxury vehicles, Australia's foreign affairs ministry said April 5. “The Australian government is deeply committed to imposing the highest costs on Russia for President [Vladimir] Putin’s illegal and unprovoked war,” the ministry said. Similar export restrictions imposed by Japan took effect April 5 (see 2203250030).

After the Bureau of Industry and Security added 120 entities to its Entity List last week for supporting the Russian and Belarusian militaries (see 2204010080), senior BIS official Thea Kendler said the U.S. won’t “hesitate” to impose more export restrictions.

The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a proposed rule for interagency review that could place new export controls on certain “marine toxins.” The rule, sent for review March 21, proposes changes to the Commerce Control List to reflect revisions recently made at the Australia Group, a multilateral export control group for chemical and biological weapons. If approved by the interagency, the proposed rule will request public comments on the control changes.

When it runs out of its current equipment, the Russian military will face challenges sourcing critical technologies to upgrade and maintain its military goods, due to U.S. export controls (see 2202240069), the Atlantic Council said in a March 18 post on its website. But much of that could depend on how successfully the U.S. and its allies can enforce the restrictions, the Atlantic Council said, and whether Chinese companies comply with the restrictions or decide to supply chips to Russia and expose themselves to secondary sanctions or similar U.S. export controls (see 2203140009).

The Bureau of Industry and Security on March 17 issued three frequently asked questions to address matters surrounding the savings clauses in export control rules for Russia and Belarus (see 2202240069 and 2203020072). The FAQs clarify which activities and transactions are captured by the clauses, provide details around the effective dates of the clauses, and clarify whether the clauses would cover an order when the ultimate consignee is a warehouse or distributor.

The Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Export Enforcement detained two speedboats destined to Russia earlier this month, an agency spokesperson said March 16. The boats, worth a combined $150,000, were detained at the Port of Charleston on March 2 before they could be exported to a large distributor of yachts and boats in Russia, the spokesperson said. The agency released a picture of one of the boats, saying the exporter failed to obtain an export license. BIS said the shipment was subject to new Russian export restrictions that took effect last month (see 2202240069).