The State Department sent a final rule for interagency review that would amend restrictions against Cyprus under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, sent July 31 to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, could build on past measures to relax export restrictions on certain defense goods and services involving the country (see 2409260011). The State Department has renewed those relaxed restrictions for Cyprus each year since 2020, with the latest renewal scheduled to expire Sept. 30.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on July 29 updated its list of commodity jurisdiction determinations for items and services controlled under the U.S. Munitions List. The new determinations cover certain antennas, an anti-tank projectile, a laser range finder, a radiofrequency switch and more.
China's Cyberspace Administration is probing U.S. semiconductor firm Nvidia after raising concerns that the company's chips may be equipped with features to track the location or potentially shut down H20 chips sold in China, the agency said July 31, according to an unofficial translation.
The Trump administration is still wrestling with how exactly to scope its replacement for the Biden-era AI diffusion rule, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has been ordered in recent months to avoid tough export controls on China as Washington tries to strike a trade deal with Beijing, the Financial Times reported July 28. The report comes after Trump administration officials said they planned to lift restrictions on Nvidia's H20 chip exports to China as part of an agreement that saw Beijing ease restrictions on rare earths (see 2507150013). The White House and BIS didn't respond to our requests for comment.
At least $1 billion worth of Nvidia advanced AI chips were smuggled into China about a month after the Trump administration placed new export controls on the company's less advanced chips, the Financial Times reported July 24. Multiple Chinese distributors in May began selling Nvidia's B200 chips to suppliers of data centers that serve Chinese AI groups, the report said, adding that those chips are more advanced than Nvidia's H20s, which the Trump administration restricted in April (see 2504160026). Contracts reviewed by the Financial Times for sales during that time period showed shipments "estimated to be more than" $1 billion.
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade this week issued new guidelines for how companies should develop and operate export control compliance programs for dual-use goods. The guidance states that companies must have export compliance programs in order to be eligible for certain export licenses, including India's "Global Authorisation for Inter-Company Transfers" scheme, which issues licenses for exports to company affiliates in certain third countries, and the country's "Open General Export License" scheme, which issues one-time export licenses for a specific time period.
Beijing this week added new export controls on certain battery electrode material preparation technology and removed restrictions on three items related to building construction technology, China’s Ministry of Commerce said, according to an unofficial translation.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has completed an interagency review of its rule that will formally rescind the Biden-era AI diffusion rule (see 2505070039). The agency sent the final rule for interagency review May 7 (see 2505080026), and it was completed July 10.
The Bureau of Industry and Security’s latest export control enforcement action against a semiconductor firm shows the agency may be preparing to target companies that flout its high probability standard, a trade lawyer and industry consultant said.