The Bureau of Industry and Security published a set of frequently asked questions to provide industry guidance on its summer update to the foreign direct product rule, which increased restrictions on certain foreign-made items (see 2009170026). The guidance, issued this week, features FAQs that cover how the restrictions apply to companies and products, and how they impact prior exports, manufacturing plants, supply chains, prior licenses and more. BIS also outlined how the restrictions may apply to various scenarios faced by industry, including licensing responsibilities and due diligence requirements.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 77 entities and people to the Entity List, including China’s top chipmaker, to further prevent China and other countries from acquiring sensitive U.S. technologies, the agency said Dec. 18. Along with China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the Entity List additions include China-based DJI, one of the world’s largest drone makers, and companies in Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Malta, Pakistan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
As the U.S. increasingly relies on sanctions, export controls and trade restrictions as foreign policy tools, it should expect China to follow its example, former U.S. government officials said. While other countries are beginning to mimic U.S. trade strategies, the policies are most notably taking hold in China, the officials said, which recently rolled out an export control regime (see 2010190033), has increased threats of sanctions for foreign interference in Hong Kong and Taiwan (see 2012100022 and 2010260017) and issued regulations for its unreliable entity list (see 2009210017).
The Joe Biden administration should expect immediate bipartisan pressure from Congress to tackle human rights issues in China, including calls for potential sanctions and other restrictive measures, said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. Although observers and officials have said they expect Biden to continue many of the current administration’s China trade restrictions (see 2011250054 and 2011250019), Congress will likely call for more actions, Larsen said. “There's not a lot of wiggle room on the role of human rights,” Larsen said during a Dec. 15 online event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And there's not a lot of wiggle room on the issue of technology.”
The Commerce Department published its fall 2020 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including new mentions of rules to amend Hong Kong under the Export Administration Regulations, releases of controlled technologies to standards setting bodies and a range of new technology controls.
The U.S. announced sanctions on Turkey for buying Russian missile defense systems, saying Dec. 14 the purchases provide “substantial funds” to Russia’s defense sector and harm U.S. national security. The sanctions target Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and several SSB officials, including SSB President Ismail Demir, Vice President Faruk Yigit, and air defense officials Serhat Gencoglu and Mustafa Alper Deniz.
The European Union expects to publish a range of export control guidelines in 2021 and will likely use the year to decide whether it will restrict exports of certain facial recognition technologies, EU officials said. Those guidelines and decisions will be released as part of the EU’s new dual-use export control regime (see 2011100021), which officials expect to take effect this coming summer.
The U.S. and the European Union will hold export control discussions this week to share information on emerging technology restrictions and countries and companies of concern, according to the European Commission and the U.S. Commerce Department. The discussions, scheduled for Dec. 15 and 16, will include senior officials from Commerce and the State Department and high-level trade officers from the commission and EU member states, a commission spokesperson said in a Dec. 14 email. Others participating include export control and technology experts from EU member states, a representative from the German presidency of the Council of the EU and the commission’s chief trade enforcement officer.
The European Union is bracing for a large workload and host of new “responsibilities” as it prepares to implement its new dual-use export control regime, said Denis Redonnet, the European Commission’s chief trade enforcement officer. Redonnet said the regime will “test” EU agencies and governments and will only succeed with cooperation from industry experts.
The State Department is extending two International Traffic in Arms Regulations measures to allow employees involved in certain ITAR-related activities to work remotely (see 2004240017) as the agency seeks to make the changes permanent, a notice released Dec. 10 said. The notice continues a temporary exception to the ITAR to allow employees to telework, including employees working remotely in a country “not currently authorized” by a technical assistance agreement, manufacturing license agreement or an exemption. The exceptions do not apply to employees working in certain blocked countries, including Russia.