The Bureau of Industry and Security and its technical advisory committees should do more public outreach to make sure companies are aware of important export control updates sometimes buried in Federal Register notices, a BIS committee heard last week. That outreach is especially critical for companies working with industrial chemical processing equipment, a committee member and industry lawyer said, which has commercial uses but is increasingly drawing BIS scrutiny for its military capabilities, including in chemical weapons.
Export Control Classification Number (ECCN)
An Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) is an alphanumeric code that indicates the licensing requirements and provides a description of items on the Commerce Control List.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected an argument from a Chinese engineering professor who said his illegal export shouldn't have been subject to national security controls, which made the export subject to a higher base offense (U.S. v. Yi-Chi Shih, 9th Cir. # 23-3718).
A set of new rules released last week by the Commerce and State departments will reduce licensing requirements for exports of certain space-related items to a range of U.S. trading partners and propose to transfer export control jurisdiction over other space-related defense items from the State Department to the Commerce Department, lowering trade barriers faced by the commercial space industry for years.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is expanding its Validated End User program to include a new export authorization for data centers, which could allow certain preapproved data facilities to more quickly obtain advanced semiconductors and other U.S.-controlled items with artificial intelligence uses.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined First Call International, a Texas-based provider of defense and aerospace items, after the company modified a document to make it appear like it was complying with U.S. export control regulations. BIS also said the business illegally exported military aircraft parts to Malaysia and South Korea.
U.S. companies and trade groups applauded a recent Bureau of Industry and Security rule that expanded the agency’s export control exemption for certain standards-setting activities, saying the change will help remove licensing barriers faced by American officials at international bodies working on emerging technology standards. But at least one group asked BIS to continue expanding the exemption to cover a wider set of technologies discussed in standards bodies involving the electronics, telecommunications and aviation industries.
The Census Bureau is updating the Automated Export System with Export Control Classification Numbers and a license code to reflect new export controls over advanced technologies announced last week by the Bureau of Industry and Security (see 2409050028). The update adds multiple new ECCNs to the ECCN reference table in AES, Census said in a Sept. 6 email to industry, and introduces new License Code C70 for License Exception Implemented Export Control (IEC), which authorizes certain technology exports to other countries that have put in place similar restrictions.
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.
New rules from the Commerce and State departments could lead to a range of new restrictions on U.S. support for certain foreign military intelligence and security services, increasing export licensing requirements for activities that could give U.S. adversaries a “critical military or intelligence advantage.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued two temporary denial orders last week as part of the Biden administration's latest package of Russia-related sanctions and export controls (see 2406120036), targeting companies and people in the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Turkey and Indonesia for sending export controlled items to Russia.