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 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).
Dutch chip equipment maker ASML isn’t expecting to receive export licenses this year to ship several of its deep ultraviolet immersion lithography systems to China, along with one older DUV tool not previously disclosed by the company.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is undergoing a restructuring to separate its licensing work from its efforts to evaluate and protect emerging and foundational technologies, said Eileen Albanese, director of the Office of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls. She said the agency plans to hire at least three new senior officials to usher in the reorganization, which will help BIS meet its “broader mandate.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security completed an interagency review for a proposed rule to address “significant malicious cyber-enabled activities.” The agency sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 16 (see 2308170008) and completed the review Jan. 19.
The U.S. likely will face challenges trying to place export controls on RISC-V, an open-source semiconductor architecture that policymakers fear China may use to evade export restrictions and leapfrog their U.S. competitors, Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology said this week.
Annual encryption self-classification reports and semi-annual sales reports for certain encryption items are due to the Bureau of Industry and Security by Feb. 1, Thompson Hine said in a reminder to clients last week. The self-classification report covers less sensitive items under the BIS License Exception ENC, and must provide information on encryption commodities, software and components exported during the previous calendar year. For the upcoming semi-annual sales report deadline, BIS requires information on exports that occurred between July 1 and Dec. 31 of the previous year.