The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for a Chicago resident for an illegal export to the United Arab Emirates, BIS said in a Feb. 17 order. BIS said Siddharth Bhatt was convicted Sept. 16, 2020, of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after he tried to export a controlled U.S.-origin thermal imaging camera to the UAE without a required license. Bhatt was sentenced to 48 months of probation and was fined about $2,500. BIS revoked Bhatt’s export privileges for 10 years from the date of his conviction, and revoked any BIS-issued licenses in which he had an interest at the time of his conviction.
The Bureau of Industry and Security have outlined a series of increased restrictions on exports to Myanmar, including a more strict licensing policy and the suspension of certain license exceptions. The changes, described by the Commerce Department last week and effective Feb. 18, came after President Joe Biden authorized sanctions and ordered stronger export controls for shipments to the country’s military after it overthrew the government earlier this month (see 2102110020).
Nazak Nikakhtar, who served several months as the Bureau of Industry and Security's acting undersecretary, joined Wiley Rein as a partner in its international trade and co-chair in its national security practice, the firm said Feb. 16. Nikakhtar was nominated to lead BIS in April 2019 but stepped down as she awaited Senate confirmation, returning to a senior position at the International Trade Administration (see 1908290044).
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said the Bureau of Industry and Security isn’t complying with congressional oversight requirements because it hasn’t yet provided him with information about its China licensing process that he requested in November. After McCaul requested “detailed information” on how BIS licenses U.S. technology to Chinese entities, BIS told him the data was “too difficult and time-consuming to compile,” McCaul said Feb. 16. But McCaul said BIS allowed “the same information to be shared with the media,” referencing a Feb 11 Reuters report on Huawei restrictions (see 2102120008). McCaul called BIS’s actions “completely inappropriate and only furthers my concerns that BIS has not woken up to the growing threat of the Chinese Community Party.” A BIS spokesperson didn’t comment.
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Among the potential candidates to head the Bureau of Industry and Security is James Mulvenon, a Chinese technology expert at the aerospace company SOS International, the Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 11. Mulvenon is expected to be considered for the undersecretary role along with Kevin Wolf (see 2102090060), an export controls lawyer and a former BIS official, and could bring a more hard-line stance on U.S. technology exports to China, the report said.
The U.S. on Feb. 11 announced sanctions and export controls targeting the Myanmar military, defense ministry and security services after it carried out a coup earlier this month (see 2102100060). The White House also issued an executive order outlining a new Myanmar sanctions regime and said more restrictions will be imposed “in the coming days.”
Kevin Wolf, a former Commerce Department official, said he has not been contacted by the Biden administration about heading the Bureau of Industry and Security, despite a Feb. 6 report in the Financial Times that said Wolf is viewed as a front-runner. “I have no information,” Wolf said Feb. 8. “I do not know who [Biden] will nominate.” Wolf served as Commerce’s assistant secretary for export administration under the Obama administration before joining Akin Gump as an export control and trade lawyer. The report said Biden has yet to name his choice for BIS undersecretary. The White House didn't comment.
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Industry should expect the Biden administration’s review of Trump-era China policies -- including export controls and licensing decisions -- to take two to three months, trade lawyer Peter Lichtenbaum said. He also said the Bureau of Industry and Security will continue to adhere to the Trump administration's strict Huawei licensing policy until it’s changed by incoming political appointees, which has not yet happened.