China criticized new guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security this week that said using Huawei Ascend chips likely violates export controls (see 2505130018), saying the announcement is another example of U.S. “unilateral bullying.”
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this month updated its list of commodity jurisdiction determinations for items and services controlled under the U.S. Munitions List. The new determinations cover certain amplifiers, drones, parts related to fuel tanks, freight advisory services, transceivers, helicopter training, engines and more. DDTC also said some of the items should be classified by the Bureau of Industry and Security under the Export Administration Regulations as EAR99 or other specific Export Control Classification Numbers.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is preparing to publish a notice that will officially rescind the AI diffusion export control rule released by the Biden administration in January, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. BIS sent the notice for interagency review on May 7 (see 2505070039).
China, which has imposed export controls on critical minerals in recent years to retaliate against foreign trade restrictions, is expected to continue doing so, a researcher told the congressionally mandated U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission April 24.
New export license requirements that the Trump administration recently imposed on chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) may not be the last of such actions, Miller & Chevalier said in an alert April 21.
When imposing trade restrictions on China, the U.S. should do more analysis to better understand how Beijing might retaliate with export controls, a former State Department official said April 14.
Japan last week announced new export controls on semiconductor-related items and other sensitive technologies, according to an unofficial translation of a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry notice. The items will need export licenses when destined to certain countries “if there is a risk that they will be used for the development of conventional weapons, etc.,” Japan said. Exemptions will apply for certain exports of goods involving “allied nations' forces for joint training” activities.
The White House last week released a summary of the April 1 reports it received from U.S. agencies on President Donald Trump’s America-first trade policy agenda (see 2501210023). The summary includes brief mentions of export controls and investment restrictions.
The Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence criticized the Bureau of Industry and Security's decision last week to add the research organization to the Entity List and urged BIS to remove it (see 2503250075). "Artificial intelligence is a shared resource for humanity, akin to electricity and other transformative technological advancements," the academy said, according to a report from state-run news outlet China Daily. "The US decision contradicts the spirit of scientific innovation and global cooperation, severely undermining openness in AI research and development.” The academy was added for allegedly trying to buy export-controlled U.S. items to develop large AI models and advanced semiconductors for China’s military.
The U.S. is asking Malaysia to more closely track shipments of advanced semiconductors, including chips made by U.S. firm Nvidia, to make sure they’re not transiting the country before ending up in China in violation of U.S. export controls, the Financial Times reported. Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said the U.S. is “asking us to make sure that we monitor every shipment that comes to Malaysia when it involves Nvidia chips,” according to the report. “They want us to make sure that servers end up in the data centres that they're supposed to and not suddenly move to another ship." Aziz also said Malaysia recently formed a task force to tighten regulations around the country’s data center sector, which relies on Nvidia chips.