Australia’s amended Defence Trade Controls Act, which introduces criminal penalties for violations of export controls over military and dual-use technologies, took effect March 1, Export Controls Australia Group said in an alert to members this month. The group issued a reminder that Australian exporters and other organizations are now subject to “stricter permit requirements”; expanded recordkeeping rules; increased compliance reporting requirements, including for voluntary disclosures; and “enhanced self-audit expectations to ensure ongoing regulatory adherence.”
Singapore authorities charged three men with fraud last week after linking them to alleged illegal exports of advanced chips made by American semiconductor firm Nvidia, Singapore-based broadcaster Channel News Asia reported Feb. 28. The three men allegedly “made false representations” last year that the Nvidia chips wouldn’t be transferred to someone other than the "authorised ultimate consignee of end users," the report said, which may have violated U.S. export controls. The charges came after Singapore trade official Tan See Leng told the country’s parliament on Feb. 18 that Singapore doesn’t “condone businesses deliberately using their association with the country to circumvent or violate export controls of other nations,” the report said.
Countries, especially within the EU, should try to minimize export control compliance and enforcement challenges posed by cloud computing services, researchers said in a report this month.
The Trump administration has ended a Biden administration policy requiring recipients of U.S. foreign military aid to provide written assurances that they will use those weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, the Washington Post reported Feb. 24.
The Bureau of Industry and Security’s ongoing export control policy review is likely to result in an initial set of recommendations involving advanced technology exported to China, Akin Gump said last week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has officially opened registration for its upcoming annual update conference to be held March 18-20. The conference is expected to feature sessions with BIS leadership and "key international representatives," and will include regulatory updates, profiles of recent export enforcement investigations, compliance guidance and presentations from the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services. BIS hasn't yet released an agenda.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a correction this week to its January interim final rule that created new lists of trusted chip designers and service providers; imposed a broader, worldwide license requirement for chip foundries and packaging companies shipping certain advanced chips captured by Export Control Classification Number 3A090; and made other updates to its existing chip export controls (see 2501150040). The correction, effective Feb. 11, revises 3A090 to correct that ECCN's license requirement.
The U.S. National Science Foundation is seeking public comments as it develops an “action plan” on artificial intelligence development. The request for information, issued on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will help “define the priority policy actions needed to sustain and enhance America's AI dominance” and remove “unnecessarily burdensome requirements” that hinder AI innovation. It specifically asks for feedback on AI “innovation and competition, intellectual property, procurement, international collaboration, and export controls,” among other areas. Comments are due March 15.
U.S. export controls on computing chips and chipmaking equipment are more likely to slow China's advances in artificial intelligence than in military modernization, a researcher said during a Feb. 6 hearing of the congressionally mandated U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
The Trump administration should build on a January move by President Joe Biden that was designed to ease how the government authorizes transfers of missile technology-related exports to close allies, said Sean Wilson, a non-resident aerospace policy researcher with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.