The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued new guidance about the exclusions available under Russia-related information technology and software services restrictions that took effect Sept. 12.
A new final rule issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security this week will codify a host of updates the agency made to its administrative enforcement policies over the past three years, including measures to help BIS more quickly resolve minor voluntary disclosures and increase penalties on exporters who choose not to report serious violations. Other changes will give BIS broader discretion to impose higher fines, including by eliminating language that had capped maximum base civil penalties for “non-egregious” violations.
The U.S. is imposing export penalties against three Chinese companies, a Pakistani company and a Chinese national for their involvement in “missile technology proliferation activities,” the State Department said in a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register Sept. 12.
The Netherlands last week said it expanded its export controls on advanced semiconductor manufacturing tools, imposing new license requirements on certain deep ultraviolet lithography equipment that can be used to make high-end chips. The new control, effective Sept. 7, is meant to restrict equipment that can be used to make chips with “advanced military applications,” the Dutch government said, which “has implications for the Netherlands’ security interests.”
A new set of advanced technology export controls announced by the Bureau of Industry and Security this week will apply to quantum computing, semiconductor manufacturing, 3D printing and other critical technologies that BIS said could be used by foreign militaries to harm U.S. national security. The measures, outlined in an interim final rule released Sept. 5, also include a new license exception that could allow U.S. exporters to continue shipping these technologies to a list of close American allies.
Defense firm RTX Corp. will pay $200 million to settle alleged violations of U.S. defense export controls, the largest standalone export penalty ever issued by the State Department. RTX voluntarily disclosed the 750 violations, the agency said in a charging letter, most of which involved “historical” issues by an aerospace firm acquired by RTX in 2018.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on two export-related information collections, it said in notices this week.
Some companies are struggling to meet a due diligence threshold set by the U.S. government for sales to foreign suppliers accused of illegal sales to Russia, said Anne van de Heetkamp, vice president of product management for global trade intelligence at Descartes Systems Group.
The Bureau of Industry and Security reached a $44,750 settlement with Streamlight, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of portable lighting products, after BIS said the firm violated the Export Administration Regulations’ antiboycott provisions. Streamlight committed the antiboycott violations by certifying to a freight forwarder -- as it prepared for a Bahrain trade show -- that its goods didn’t come from Israel.
New guidance issued last week by the Bureau of Industry and Security outlines how exporters should use contractual clauses in their sales contracts to prevent Russia-related trade violations, including how BIS views the EU’s requirement for a “no-Russia” clause. The agency also warned foreign corporate service providers about letting “bad actors” use rented addresses for billing or shipping, which they can use to evade detection when violating export controls.