Michael Kratsios, director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, suggested this week that the U.S. is against imposing export controls on open-weight AI models.
The White House this week extended a national emergency that authorizes certain export control regulations. It was renewed for one year beyond the original Aug. 17 expiration.
Taiwanese authorities have detained three people after accusing them of stealing technology trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., according to multiple reports. The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office said Taiwan detained the people late last month after a TSMC internal investigation revealed that former and current employees had illegally obtained information from the company, Reuters reported. TSMC fired the workers, who allegedly stole sensitive chip technology, Nikkei Asia reported.
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review that would revise Biden-era regulations that increased restrictions on firearms exports. The rule, sent for review Aug. 4, is expected to reverse some of those restrictions amid lobbying from gun industry advocates (see 2505290012). Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in June that the Biden-era rule was "inconsistent with our views" (see 2506050050).
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls recently posted the presentations and white papers from its last Defense Trade Advisory Group plenary in December. During the plenary, industry officials recommended that the agency scale down the International Traffic in Arms Regulations’ brokering reporting rules to reduce filing burdens for the defense industry (see 2412050023). Another presentation focused on issues surrounding controlled reexports and retransfers of legacy equipment; a third presentation focused on the barriers, inefficiencies and opportunities related to co-production, codevelopment, and co-sustainment of defense articles within U.S. international trade laws. DDTC also posted the minutes from the meeting along with other documents.
The State Department sent a final rule for interagency review that would amend restrictions against Cyprus under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, sent July 31 to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, could build on past measures to relax export restrictions on certain defense goods and services involving the country (see 2409260011). The State Department has renewed those relaxed restrictions for Cyprus each year since 2020, with the latest renewal scheduled to expire Sept. 30.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on July 29 updated its list of commodity jurisdiction determinations for items and services controlled under the U.S. Munitions List. The new determinations cover certain antennas, an anti-tank projectile, a laser range finder, a radiofrequency switch and more.
China's Cyberspace Administration is probing U.S. semiconductor firm Nvidia after raising concerns that the company's chips may be equipped with features to track the location or potentially shut down H20 chips sold in China, the agency said July 31, according to an unofficial translation.
The Trump administration is still wrestling with how exactly to scope its replacement for the Biden-era AI diffusion rule, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has been ordered in recent months to avoid tough export controls on China as Washington tries to strike a trade deal with Beijing, the Financial Times reported July 28. The report comes after Trump administration officials said they planned to lift restrictions on Nvidia's H20 chip exports to China as part of an agreement that saw Beijing ease restrictions on rare earths (see 2507150013). The White House and BIS didn't respond to our requests for comment.