The Commerce Department delayed its ban on TikTok and a federal judge temporarily blocked the agency from imposing prohibitions on WeChat, complicating prohibitions that Commerce announced last week in response to President Donald Trump's executive order (see 2009180026). Commerce on Sept. 19 said it will “delay the prohibition of identified transactions” -- which were scheduled to take effect Sept. 20 -- until Sept. 27. The agency made the decision “in light of recent positive developments” surrounding the sale of TikTok.
Registration and licensing applications for the State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System will be unavailable 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. EDT Sept. 22, a Sept. 18 notice said. The system will be down for scheduled maintenance, the State Department said, and users should save work in progress before the downtime begins.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency extended the comment period on an information collection related to letters of attestation for exports of controlled medical exports, FEMA said in a notice released Sept. 17. The agency previously requested comments on the information collection, but said it received none (see 2007160025). FEMA plans to submit the information collection to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance. Comments are due Oct. 21.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs began a review of a final rule from the Bureau of Industry and Security related to its “national security license application review policy” for China, Russia and Venezuela. OIRA received the rule Sept. 17.
The U.S. needs to increase funding to support “collaborative, pre-competitive R&D” in the semiconductor industry and offer “incentives” for boosting domestic production, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reported Sept. 17. It should invite participation of semiconductor enterprises “headquartered in like-minded nations,” ITIF said. The increasing cost, complexity and scale required to innovate and manufacture semiconductors “means that no single nation or enterprise can go it alone,” it said. “In the face of challenges from China, allied cooperation in semiconductors is critical.” China views the semiconductor sector as the linchpin of its digital development and “broadest-scale economic growth plans,” ITIF said. It has shown it’s willing to use “every tool at its disposal in its efforts to develop a world-class semiconductor industry,” it said.
Two-way investment between the U.S. and China dropped to a nine-year low during the first half of 2020, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations said in a Sept. 17 report prepared with data from the Rhodium Group. It also said growing tensions between the two sides are leading to an increase in U.S. investment reviews, specifically of past Chinese transactions.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is seeking comments on potential changes to regulations on anti-money laundering programs, a notice released Sept. 16 said. The changes would require financial institutions to establish an “effective and reasonably designed” anti-money laundering program and would specify how that is defined. FinCEN said those types of programs assess and manage risks “as informed by a financial institution’s risk assessment” and anti-money laundering priorities “to be issued” by FinCEN. The changes would also outline reporting requirements for “information with a high degree of usefulness to government authorities.” The agency said the effort is intended to “modernize” its regulatory regime to address the “evolving threats of illicit finance.” Comments are due Nov. 16.
The Federal Register is experiencing delays publishing complex agency rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an “unusually” large number of documents submitted this year, said Katerina Horska, legal affairs and policy director for the Office of the Federal Register. Horska said the Federal Register typically publishes rules within three days of receiving them, but some “can take more than a month.”
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls released on Sept. 15 its notifications to Congress of recently proposed export licenses. The 19 notifications, ranging from January through May, feature arms sales to numerous countries including the United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, Canada and Italy.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on an information collection related to the Defense Production Act, BIS said in a notice released Sept. 15. The collection is related to the DPA's authority with regard to performance of contracts and orders “supporting national defense and emergency preparedness program requirements.” Comments are due Nov. 16.