The Bureau of Industry and Security's recently issued advanced chip guidance appears to raise compliance expectations for industry, especially for banks and forwarders that may be indirectly or inadvertently violating export controls on China, lawyers said.
Gas and oil pipeline company Enterprise Products Partners said last week that it has received notice that the Bureau of Industry and Security plans to deny its request to ship ethane to China.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed June 5 that the Commerce Department is reviewing a Biden administration interim final rule that increased restrictions on firearms exports.
Liz Abraham, former director of the Bureau of Industry and Security's International Policy Office, has joined White & Case as a trade lawyer in its international trade practice, a spokesperson for the firm said. Abraham had been with BIS since May 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile. She officially joined White & Case on June 2.
A law firm said May 23 that the U.S. was failing to provide documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act partly because it was relying on a “novelly broad” interpretation of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (Husch Blackwell v. Department of Commerce, D.D.C. # 1:24-02733).
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Former Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez has joined the board of directors of Almonty Industries, a tungsten mining and production company. Almonty CEO Lewis Black said Estevez's "firsthand experience in acquisition, contracting, and supply chain operations will be especially relevant as we advance our position as a key allied supplier of tungsten." Estevez also became a senior adviser for Covington & Burling after leaving BIS earlier this year (see 2505120044).
China's Foreign Ministry criticized recent measures by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security to restrict exports of a range of items to China, saying Beijing "firmly" opposes the controls and "will resolutely defend our legitimate rights and interests."
Taiwan is offering to impose more stringent export controls and investment screening measures to prevent “high-risk countries” from obtaining sensitive semiconductors and other critical technologies, the country’s government told the Bureau of Industry and Security.
At least three companies last week disclosed receiving letters from the Bureau of Industry and Security informing them of new license restrictions they must follow for certain exports to China, including two semiconductor design firms and one oil company.