A senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the dissection of Russian military equipment used in the Ukraine war frequently uncovers Western-made microchips.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on an information collection relating to offset agreements worth more than $5 million for sales of weapons systems or defense articles to foreign countries or companies. BIS said it defines offsets as “compensation practices required as a condition of purchase in either government-to-government or commercial sales of defense articles.” Comments are due April 16.

The Bureau of Industry and Security has drafted and on Feb. 4 sent for interagency review an interim final rule to revise its export licensing requirements for certain firearms shipments. BIS in October announced a 90-day suspension of license applications for new gun exports (see 2310270068, 2310300043 and 2311200009). A draft document leaked in December purports to show some of the export control changes under consideration (see 2312260039).

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has completed a round of interagency review for a new final rule that could add to its list of proscribed countries under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Those countries are generally subject to an export license review policy of denial. DDTC sent the rule for interagency review Jan. 12 (see 2401160017), and the review was completed Feb. 5.

The U.S. and other governments have so far placed export controls only on advanced semiconductors because they may believe restrictions on a broader, more mature set of chips won’t be effective, experts said this week.

The Bureau of Industry and Security sent an interim final rule for interagency review that would make “changes” to the Export Administration Regulations. The rule was sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Feb. 4. The agency didn’t say what those changes would be.

The Bureau of Industry and Security completed a round of interagency review for a final rule that could make certain export control changes for items destined to Nicaragua. The rule, sent for review Dec. 20 and completed Feb. 2, would revise the export, reexport and in-country transfer controls for Nicaragua under the Export Administration Regulations “consistent with U.S. policy.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security completed a round of interagency review for a final rule that could revise export licensing requirements for certain cameras, systems or related components. BIS said the rule, first sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in October (see 2311010008), will “better align controls with technological and commercial developments.”

As the U.S. pursues new export controls on emerging technologies destined to China, it’s also focusing heavily on updating existing controls to close loopholes and keep pace with technological changes, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said this week.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is drafting an interim final rule that could clarify export control rules for certain semiconductors and expand a license exception for government end users. The rule, sent for interagency review Jan. 26, could clarify controls on certain “Radiation Hardened Integrated Circuits” and expand License Exception GOV (Governments, international organizations, international inspections under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the International Space Station).