The Commerce and State departments are extending the public comment periods for one interim final rule and two proposed rules that are expected to revise U.S. export controls to remove a range of export barriers faced by the commercial space industry (see 2410180027 and 2411070024). Comments on all three rules originally were due Nov. 22, but the agencies said they are extending that deadline to Dec. 23 after the “regulated community” asked for more time.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week updated its “Don’t Let This Happen To You” guidance with new summaries and case examples of past export control investigations. The guidance now includes new case summaries of violations involving a Russia-related procurement network; a criminal case where export-controlled items were smuggled outside the U.S. and used in an assassination plot; a penalty against a semiconductor wafer manufacturing company for shipments to a party on the Entity List; violations of BIS antiboycott regulations; and more. “Exporters are encouraged to review the publication, which provides useful illustrations of the type of conduct that gets companies and universities in trouble,” BIS said.
The Commerce Department sent a letter to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ordering it to stop shipments of advanced semiconductors to certain Chinese customers, including 7 nanometer chips or others of “more advanced designs,” Reuters reported Nov. 9. The letter specifically orders TSMC to stop shipments, beginning Nov. 11, destined for Chinese customers of chips that power artificial intelligence accelerator and graphics processing units, the report said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is expected to begin suspending production of AI chips at advanced process nodes of 7 nanometers for its Chinese customers beginning Nov. 11, the Financial Times reported last week.
Recent revisions to the EU’s dual-use export control list were officially published Nov. 7 and take effect Nov. 8, according to a document published in the Official Journal of the EU. The changes, previewed in September (see 2409100030), add and remove certain controlled items, change certain control parameters and revise technical definitions and descriptions, including to reflect updates made by multilateral export control regimes during 2023. The EU published a summary of the changes earlier this year.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is being asked to do more to restrict the export of dual-use items but isn’t getting a commensurate increase in funding and personnel, a technology policy expert said last week.
The Commerce and State departments will hold a Nov. 6 public briefing to discuss details and answer questions about a new set of rules aimed at modernizing U.S. export controls over space-related technology (see 2410180027), Commerce announced in two notices released last week. The briefing will be held 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST at the Commerce building. Registration to attend in person closed Nov. 1; registration for virtual attendance will close Nov. 5. Written questions must be received by 5 p.m. EST Nov. 4.
The U.S. government could face a host of challenges if it tries to place export controls on AI models to protect national security, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) said in an article last week.
The U.K.’s Export Control Joint Unit this week updated two open general export licenses related to the multi-country F-35 joint strike fighter program -- a defense acquisition effort by the U.K., the U.S. and others to replace fighter jets among allied countries.
The Commerce Department declined to say whether it’s investigating Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company for a possible breach of export controls against Huawei but is aware of public reporting about the issue, an agency spokesperson said Oct. 24.