The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a Pennsylvania-based scientific equipment manufacturer $80,000 for illegally exporting goods to Huawei and HiSilicon Technologies in 2019, according to a Nov. 8 enforcement order. The company, SP Industries, exported more than $170,000 worth of goods to the Chinese technology companies just after they were added to the Entity List (see 1905160072).
The Commerce Department should tread carefully when imposing new export controls, foreign investment restrictions and limits on standards collaboration, which may jeopardize the U.S.’s position in global information and communications technology supply chains, U.S. companies and trade groups told the agency this month. Some of those regulatory restrictions are already having chilling effects on U.S. competitiveness, they said, as foreign firms and countries can quickly fill voids in overseas markets and leadership positions in global standards bodies.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added four technology companies in Israel, Russia and Singapore to the Entity List for “acting contrary” to U.S. foreign policy and national security through “malicious cyber activities,” BIS said in a notice released Nov. 3. The companies either operate or supply technologies in the cyberintelligence and information security sectors and will be subject to a license review policy of presumption of denial for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. No license exceptions will be available for controlled exports to the four companies. The additions are effective Nov. 4.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Oct. 25-29 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will add four entities in Israel, Russia, and Singapore to the Entity List for "malicious cyber activities" that are contrary to U.S. foreign policy and national security, BIS said in a notice. The two Israeli companies supply malicious spyware to foreign governments, and the companies in Russia and Singapore “traffic in cyber exploits” that threaten the “privacy and security of individuals and organizations worldwide.” BIS will impose a license review policy of presumption of denial for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The Commerce Department said the Entity List additions are part of a government-wide effort to "stem the proliferation of digital tools used for repression." The additions take effect Nov. 4.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 28 updated its guidance on the Foreign-Produced Direct Product Rule to further clarify situations when goods are subject to the FDP rule and require a license. The guidance, which includes a set of frequently asked questions (see 2012210044), now includes new FAQ No. 4 under the "supply chain" subheading, which starts on page four and continues onto page five, a BIS spokesperson said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security plans to implement more emerging technology controls during this fiscal year, Karen Nies-Vogel, BIS’s director of the Office of Exporter Services, said, speaking briefly during an Oct. 28 meeting of the Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee. Nies-Vogel said the agency has so far issued 38 emerging technology controls and is “looking forward” to implementing more in the coming months and “years to come.”
Although the Bureau of Industry and Security's new export controls on cybersecurity items are intended to restrict only malicious exports, they could place wide-ranging compliance burdens on the entire cybersecurity sector, law firms said. Technology companies and others operating in the sector still have time to convince BIS to narrow the scope of the rule, which takes effect in January but contains several “ambiguities,” firms said.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Oct. 18-22 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
A U.S.-based technology company “likely” violated U.S. export controls against Huawei for more than a year but hasn't yet faced penalties by the Bureau of Industry and Security, Republican staff on the Senate Commerce Committee said Oct. 26. The committee’s minority staff said Seagate Technology likely continued shipping hard disk drives to Huawei after BIS amended its foreign direct product rule last year, which imposed controls on goods that are the direct product of certain technology or software subject to the Export Administration Regulations (see 2005150058 and 2008170029).