The U.S. and Europe should create a shared list of companies subject to investment restrictions, which would help both sides better harmonize their inbound and outbound screening rules and create a “level playing field” for investors, said Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a China studies fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. She also said the two sides could create a shared “white list” of foreign investors that would be exempt from the restrictions, streamlining filings before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and reviews conducted by EU member states.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week removed 33 entities from its Unverified List -- including Chinese technology companies and universities -- after it was able to successfully complete end-use checks. The entities include 27 based in China, two in Pakistan and one each in Indonesia, Singapore, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The agency also removed two Russian entities from the UVL because it placed both on the more restrictive Entity List last year.
Republicans last week urged the Biden administration against meeting with Beijing to discuss semiconductor export controls, saying the U.S. should not negotiate its policies with China and should instead enact tougher restrictions. They specifically asked Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is considering a trip to China, to pledge that the U.S. plans to increase its export restrictions against the country.
Hong Kong-based apparel company Chagji Esquel Textile (CJE) and the Commerce Department filed a joint stipulation of dismissal on Aug. 11 in CJE's suit challenging its placement on the Entity List. The parties most recently filed a joint status report in June as they discussed the conditions related to the End-User Review Committee's July 2021 decision to drop the company from the Entity List (Changji Esquel Textile Co. v. Gina M. Raimondo, D.D.C. # 21-01798).
The Commerce, State and Labor departments issued an updated South Sudan business advisory this week to highlight the risks U.S. companies, investors and others in the country are facing, particularly involving state-owned companies, which may have ties to human rights abuses or corruption. The advisory, updated from guidance issued last year (see 2205230062), comes months after the country saw an increase in fighting between two Sudanese military forces (see 2305040037).
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week expanded the scope of its nuclear-related export controls on China and Macau, saying the change was necessary to impose tighter license requirements on items that could “contribute to nuclear activities of concern.” The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also suspended a general license that had authorized exports of certain nuclear items for nuclear end uses in China.
House Republicans this week urged the Biden administration not to strike a deal with Beijing after Chinese officials reportedly offered to restart counter-narcotics activities with the U.S. in exchange for lifting certain trade restrictions. Beijing asked the U.S. to lift restrictions on the Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science, The Wall Street Journal recently reported. The institute was added to the Entity List in 2020 for its ties to human rights violations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security chose not to penalize U.S. hardware supplier MaxLinear after it voluntarily disclosed potential export control violations, the company said in a recent SEC filing. MaxLinear said it received a warning letter from BIS June 8 and was informed by BIS that the agency “closed out its review of our voluntary self-disclosure without monetary or other penalties.” MaxLinear disclosed the potential violation last year when it said it may have breached U.S. export licensing requirements by selling to a Chinese foundry on the Entity List (see 2211070014 and 2305020008).
The House Select Committee on China is investigating U.S. investment firms BlackRock and index provider MSCI for their “decisions” that led to Americans investing savings into “dozens of blacklisted Chinese companies,” including entities that contribute to China’s human rights abuses, the committee said this week. In letters to the two firms, committee leaders said their investment-related decisions have resulted in Americans “unwittingly funding” Chinese entities building weapons for the country's military and contributing to the government's goal for “technological supremacy.”
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