The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding eight companies to the Entity List that it said are “enabling human rights violations,” including by supplying sensitive technology or military items to the Chinese, Russian and Myanmar militaries. The additions, outlined in a final rule released Dec. 10 and effective Dec. 11, target technology companies and supplier firms based in each of those three countries.
Companies should expect the U.S. government to continue to prioritize enforcement of export controls in the coming months, including by issuing new penalties for export violations, said Matthew Axelrod, the Bureau of Industry and Security’s top export enforcement official. He also revealed that BIS is using a new tool to better screen foreign parties listed on license applications, and he said a recent shift in how the agency uses metrics has allowed it to devote more attention to cases involving the most sensitive technology.
The Bureau of Industry and Security again renewed temporary denial orders for two Russian airlines that it said continue to illegally operate aircraft on flights into and out of Russia. The agency renewed denial orders for Siberian Airlines and Nordwind Airlines for one year from Dec. 6, saying they continue to "act in blatant disregard for U.S. export controls and the terms of previously issued TDOs," including by operating flights between Russia and Thailand, China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. BIS last renewed the orders in December 2023 (see 2312130011).
The U.S. should continue working with allies to restrict sales of advanced semiconductors and semiconductor tools to China after the Biden administration leaves next month, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. But she also said she hopes the Trump administration prioritizes tools other than export controls and tariffs to counter China, and she warned against a potential decoupling of the two economies.
Nearly half of U.S. companies surveyed by the Bureau of Industry and Security this year said they didn’t know whether their products contained any Chinese-made, mature-node semiconductors, BIS said in a summary of those survey results released Dec. 6.
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., urged the Bureau of Industry and Security Dec. 4 to close several “loopholes” in its new export controls on advanced computing chips and chipmaking equipment (see 2412020016).
The incoming Trump administration could look to continue expanding the scope of U.S. foreign direct product rule restrictions, which could lead to enforcement challenges or push foreign companies to design U.S. components out of their supply chains, think tank scholars said last week.
The Census Bureau added two new license codes and revised an existing license code in the Automated Export System this week to reflect the Bureau of Industry and Security's latest export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) (see 2412020016).
The U.S. must continue to coordinate with allies on export controls, especially around Russia-related trade restrictions and curbs on advanced semiconductors and semiconductor tools destined to China, the Bureau of Industry and Security's Thea Kendler said during her final international outreach event as a Biden administration official.
The Bureau of Industry and Security named Tara Gonzalez as director of the agency’s Emerging Technology Division, she announced this week on LinkedIn. Gonzalez joined BIS in 2020, and was most recently a senior policy adviser within the division.