The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a correction this week to its final rule that added 120 new entities to the Entity List April 1 for supporting Russia’s and Belarus’ militaries (see 2204010080 and 2204040006). The agency said its inclusion of the “Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus” on page three was a mistake. BIS said that entity was “not included in the regulatory text of the rule and reference to it in the preamble was inadvertent.”
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After the Bureau of Industry and Security added 120 entities to its Entity List last week for supporting the Russian and Belarusian militaries (see 2204010080), senior BIS official Thea Kendler said the U.S. won’t “hesitate” to impose more export restrictions.
Apple is considering incorporating chips made by Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Bloomberg reported March 30, a Chinese state-owned company that some lawmakers say should be placed on the Commerce Department’s Entity list. Apple is exploring placing YMTC memory chips into its iPhones after one of its key suppliers in Japan, Kioxia Holdings Corp., “lost a batch of output to contamination” in February, the report said. Apple is “keen to diversify its network and offset the risk of further disruption from the pandemic and shipping snarls,” the report said, and is now testing sample NAND flash memory chips made by YMTC.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 120 entities to its Entity List for supporting the Russian and Belarusian militaries, the agency said in a final rule. The additions include military end-users in Russia and Belarus, along with others that have tried to send export-controlled items to Russia’s military, BIS said. The parties will be subject to a “highly restrictive” policy of denial for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, the agency said, and no license exceptions will be available. The additions, which will be published in the Federal Register April 7, take effect April 1.
The U.S. can take several steps to increase its export control pressure against Russia, including expanding certain restrictions to capture a wider range of end-users in Russia beyond the military, said Matt Borman, a senior official at the Bureau of Industry and Security. Borman also stressed that Chinese companies on the Entity List still have much to lose if they aid Russia, including a complete ban from U.S. exports, financing and other services.
The Commerce Department should add ZTE to its Entity List now that its five-year probation period and U.S. criminal case has ended, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a March 28 letter to Commerce and Justice departments. Rubio also expressed “disappointment and concern” that a U.S. court this month ruled against further penalties against the Chinese telecommunications company (see 2203240060) despite “credible evidence” that ZTE violated its probation. Rubio said the judge in the case “appeared unconvinced of any serious commitment to reform” by ZTE officials.
The past several weeks at U.S. sanctions agencies have ranked among the busiest times in recent memory, especially at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, where some employees are working nearly nonstop to implement and enforce new sanctions against Russia, former officials said in interviews. While some former officials said the extra work could shift minor projects to the side, lawyers are concerned it could also delay more pressing agency priorities, including licensing requests.
A new Senate bill could require the government to regularly review whether Russia’s major oil companies should be added to the Entity List. Under the bill, introduced last week by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., the interagency end-user review committee would be required to review every 90 days whether Rosneft, Surgutneftegas, Lukoil, Gazprom and other Russian oil companies warrant placement on the Entity List. “We MUST make completely clear to Russian oil companies that the U.S. stands for freedom; and they will be completely black listed and stay that way until it is proven to Congress they deserve to do business in our freedom-loving nation,” Scott said in a statement.
The U.S. should tighten export controls against the Beijing Genomics Institute and its subsidiaries to prevent it from importing U.S. genomic and semiconductor technologies, the House’s Republican-led China Task Force said in a letter to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Although the Commerce Department’s Entity List has two of BGI’s subsidiaries, the lawmakers said several more should be added to restrict the company’s “access to technology, data, and money.”