The Bureau of Industry and Security added four entities to the Entity List last week after the agency said they illegally supplied U.S. items and parts to Russia or Venezuela. The companies, which have locations in Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Panama, Spain, Russia and Venezuela, either supplied U.S.-origin integrated circuits to Russia’s defense sector or helped the Nicolas Maduro-led regime in Venezuela illegally acquire export-controlled aircraft parts.

Officials from the U.S. and China will meet in January to hold “technical discussions” on ways to better protect trade secrets, the Commerce Department said in a readout of a meeting last week between Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. Commerce said the two countries will bring together “subject matter experts” to talk about “strengthening the protection of trade secrets and confidential business information during administrative licensing proceedings."

DOJ is investigating U.S. chip company Applied Materials for potentially violating export controls against China, company executives said last week. Chief Financial Officer Bryce Hill said the company received a subpoena last year and is “fully cooperating” with the government.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is preparing to release another new set of Russia-related export controls next month, which could include potential additions to the Entity List, said Matthew Borman, the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for export administration.

The Bureau of Industry and Security this week removed a Chinese scientific institute from the Entity List that the agency had originally added in 2020 for ties to human rights abuses in Xinjiang (see 2005220058). The move, outlined in a final rule effective Nov. 16, removed the Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science of China from the list.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is working to convince more countries to place export controls on advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment destined to China, but the agency couldn’t afford to delay its most recent chip controls as other nations mulled them over, said Thea Kendler, BIS assistant secretary for export administration. While the agency prefers to implement its chip controls and other restrictions alongside allies, “we will not hesitate to act unilaterally to protect U.S. national security,” Kendler said.

As the Bureau of Industry and Security adds new export controls on emerging technologies, it should also remove outdated restrictions on items that may no longer warrant licensing requirements, such as life jackets and fire extinguishers, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report. The think tank also urged BIS to shrink the Entity List to only entities that pose the most serious national security threats and consider giving preferential licensing treatment to a broader set of countries, including Vietnam and Moldova.

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Congress should order a review of U.S. semiconductor export controls against China and ask the administration to create a public database of entities connected to China’s military, which would help U.S. companies with their compliance practices, a congressional commission said this week. The bipartisan commission also said Congress should explore the idea of a single export licensing system to streamline export requirements overseen by both the Commerce and State departments.

A U.S. semiconductor company and a Canadian electronics component manufacturer are locked in a legal battle that could have implications for the export compliance responsibilities of sellers and buyers, particularly within the chip industry.