Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed June 5 that the Commerce Department is reviewing a Biden administration interim final rule that increased restrictions on firearms exports.

A bipartisan Russian sanctions bill that would also target countries still doing certain business with Moscow may hurt Russia in the short term but also could further damage U.S. trade talks with China, said Nicholas Burns, U.S. ambassador to China during the Biden administration. And while Burns said he’s glad the Trump administration has maintained sanctions against Chinese companies for selling sensitive microelectronics to Russia, he said the U.S. likely will never be able to convince China to stop supporting Russia’s defense industrial base.

The Commerce Department is drafting a replacement for its recently repealed AI diffusion rule to ensure the new controls don’t impede U.S. exports to allies, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said June 4.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., said June 3 that he hopes the Trump administration will release a new AI diffusion export control rule “soon" to replace the one it recently rescinded.

Banks need more guidance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control to comply with the agency’s new timeline for new sanctions-related recordkeeping requirements, which were extended from five years to 10 years (see 2503190003), the American Bankers Association said.

A grand jury indictment unsealed last week charges two people with trying to pay millions of dollars to ship U.S. export controlled technology and weapons to China, offering in some cases more than double the market rate to buy military jet engines, drones, cryptographic devices and other sensitive technologies.

At least three companies last week disclosed receiving letters from the Bureau of Industry and Security informing them of new license restrictions they must follow for certain exports to China, including two semiconductor design firms and one oil company.

The recent departure of many career employees at the Bureau of Industry and Security and other government agencies hasn’t necessarily translated into less export control and sanctions enforcement activity, lawyers said last week.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is suspending and revoking existing export licenses for a range of items destined to China, including chip-related design software and civil aviation items, two people familiar with the matter said.