China will increase and revise export controls on certain drones, drone parts, infrared imaging equipment and other dual-use items and technology, the country’s Commerce Ministry announced July 31. The new controls, which take effect Sept. 1, name certain drone engines, radar, lasers, “inertial measurement devices,” radio communication equipment, anti-jamming equipment and more, according to an unofficial translation. Exporters will have to apply for and receive licenses for certain shipments, and violators could face both administrative and criminal penalties.

A new U.S. rule expected this month could expand restrictions on foreign exports of certain chip equipment to China but exclude chipmakers in the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea, Reuters reported July 31.

Proposed U.S. export controls issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security last week are meant to “prevent hack-for-hire business models from circumventing our human rights-based export controls,” including U.S. restrictions on “cyber-intrusion tools,” said Thea Kendler, the agency’s assistant secretary for export administrations. In a news release announcing the proposed rules, Kendler said the restrictions could improve “controls on activities supporting foreign police and security services, including those known to violate human rights.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., questioned a senior Bureau of Industry and Security official this week about whether the agency would consider using its foreign direct product rule to impose more license restrictions on foreign exports of advanced chipmaking equipment to China.

The Bureau of Industry and Security this week issued a correction to a recent interim final rule designed to remove export control barriers for standards-setting activities (see 2407170025). BIS said the rule “inadvertently revised language related to recent changes to the Entity List,” and the agency is correcting those “inadvertent revisions.” The correction takes effect July 25.

Stopping U.S. firms from participating in RISC-V, an open-source semiconductor architecture that policymakers fear China will use to evade export controls, would only hurt American innovation and competitiveness, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said this month.

The State Department sent a rule for interagency review that would finalize its April proposal to exempt Australia and the U.K. from certain International Traffic in Arms Regulations licensing requirements as part of the AUKUS partnership (see 2404300050). The interim final rule was sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs July 19. At least one industry group criticized the proposed rule for not removing enough barriers to defense trade among the three countries (see 2406030056).

The Bureau of Industry and Security has completed a round of interagency review for a proposed rule that could lead to changes to the Export Administration Regulations to “control U.S. persons support of security end users and end uses.” The rule also “proposes restrictions on exports, re-exports, and transfers (in-country) to these end users and end uses,” BIS said. The agency completed its interagency review July 12.

Chinese and South Korean officials last week held their first meeting of a new export control dialogue forum in Beijing, where they “exchanged in-depth views on relevant export control issues,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a news release, according to an unofficial translation. The two sides also agreed to continue “close communication, create good conditions for the normal development of bilateral trade, and work together” to maintain the “smooth flow” of supply chains. The meeting was held about two weeks after the U.S. and South Korea discussed export controls as part of the second meeting of the U.S.-Korea Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue Ministerial (see 2406280026).

U.S. chipmaker Nvidia is investigating reports that “unauthorized parties claim to have small numbers of restricted products for sale,” a company spokesperson said in a statement late July 9. Nvidia works with its customers and the U.S. government “to ensure that all sales comply with U.S. export control rules,” the spokesperson said. The statement came after Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he’s concerned advanced computing chips made by Nvidia and other companies are ending up in China despite export restrictions that are supposed to prevent those shipments (see 2407090030).