The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on an information collection related to the Biden administration's review of risks in the semiconductor supply chain (see 2103110047 and 2107280051), BIS said Sept. 14. BIS is seeking feedback from industry to better “identify data gaps and bottlenecks in the supply chain.” BIS said the Commerce Department’s “overall goal” is to “add transparency on the semiconductor supply and demand mismatch and identify common bottlenecks and chokepoints.” Comments are due within two days of the publication of the notice on the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website. See the notice for search terms on the OIRA website.

Alan Estevez, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (see 2107130004 and 2104070026), will appear before the Senate on Sept. 21 for his nomination hearing, a congressional aide said Sept. 14. Also scheduled that day is Thea Kendler, nominee for assistant secretary of commerce for export administration (see 2107280063), the aide said. The two will testify before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which posted notice of the hearing late on Sept. 14.

The U.S. should use the upcoming inaugural meeting of the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council (see 2109090004) to convince the European Union to adopt more measures to “constrain China,” including stricter export controls and investment screening, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said Sept. 13. If used correctly, the council could become a significant and useful U.S. tool to increase multilateral trade restrictions on China, the group said. “U.S. negotiators need to define success not as becoming more like the EU or increasing cooperation for cooperation’s sake,” ITIF said, “but rather in increasing cooperation while also advancing key U.S. national interests and maintaining core elements of the U.S. technology policy ecosystem.”

The Federal Maritime Commission announced the 24 members of its newly formed Shipper Advisory Committee, which will advise FMC on issues in the ocean freight delivery system (see 2106080005). The group -- which includes representatives from Walmart, Target, Ikea, Tyson Foods and Brenntag -- is composed evenly of importers and exporters, the commission said Sept. 9. Members will serve until Dec. 31, 2024. FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said the shipper committee will give the FMC “rapid access to the perspectives of importers and exporters on the ground dealing with the realities of ocean shipping every day,” adding that their perspective will be “invaluable.”

The U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council (see 2107140022) will hold its first meeting Sept. 29 in Pittsburgh, and will feature 10 working groups on technology issues, the White House said Sept. 9. Among the topics that will be discussed are export controls, investment screening, “global trade challenges” and technology standards cooperation.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on the potential market impact of the proposed 2023 fiscal year National Defense Stockpile Annual Materials Plan, BIS said in a Sept. 9 notice. Comments will help inform the government of the “projected domestic and foreign economic effects of all acquisitions, conversions, and disposals involving the National Defense Stockpile and related material research and development projects,” BIS said. Comments are due by Oct. 12.

Two members of an open radio access network alliance have halted activities over concerns about possible ramifications of the U.S. decision to place three Chinese alliance members on the Commerce Department's Entity List. Ericsson and Nokia responded that they remain committed to the project. Resolving the issue could require the O-RAN Alliance to throw out its Chinese members or receive a U.S exception.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will update its website Sept. 7, 6-6:30 a.m. EDT, potentially causing disruptions, DDTC said. The agency said users should refresh their browser if they experience technical issues during that time. The update won’t affect users working in Defense Export Control and Compliance System applications.

The Commerce Department signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine this week to boost trade, help Ukraine fight corruption and strengthen intellectual property rights protections. Commerce said the MOU, signed by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Oleksiy Lyubchenko, Ukraine's economic minister, will lead to more commercial cooperation. “With the right policy conditions in place, there is significantly greater potential and opportunity for increased commercial engagement between the U.S. and Ukraine,” Raimondo said. “Signing this Memorandum of Understanding helps to set the directions for growing our relationship.”

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. hasn’t approved a new transaction involving dual-use goods since 2012 but said that could change next year, the Government Accountability Office reported Sept. 1. Ex-Im officials told GAO “there may be a higher potential for viable applications related to dual-use support in fiscal year 2022," partly because the bank has already received some questions about dual-use financing. The bank said it has seen “an increase in the frequency and nature of preliminary inquiries” involving those goods.