A bipartisan group of senators asked the Commerce Department to reverse its decision to approve Huawei-related export licenses (see 1911200041), saying the move poses significant national security risks. The senators, led by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a Nov. 21 letter to President Donald Trump that they are “concerned that the approval of additional, more permanent licenses will allow Huawei to fully resume its engagement with certain U.S. firms without an adequate assessment of the risks to national security.”
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 12-15 in case they were missed.
The Commerce Department’s decision to renew the temporary general license for Huawei “won't have a substantial impact on Huawei's business either way,” the company said in a Nov. 19 statement. Huawei said the 90-day reprieve (see 1911180036), which authorizes a narrow set of transactions with the U.S. despite Huawei’s placement on the Entity List, “does not change the fact that Huawei continues to be treated unfairly.”
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross named Cordell Hull deputy undersecretary for industry and security and Joe Semsar the deputy undersecretary at the International Trade Administration, a Commerce spokesperson said Nov. 18. The two were appointed to their positions Nov. 12, the spokesperson said.
The Commerce Department renewed the temporary general license for Huawei and 114 of its non-U.S. affiliates until Feb. 16. The renewal is effective immediately and is the license’s second extension since it was issued in May. The license authorizes certain specific activities and transactions, including those related to existing network operations of mobile services, despite Huawei's addition to the Entity List.
Days before the Commerce Department's temporary general license for Huawei is set to expire, the agency and Secretary Wilbur Ross declined to say whether they will extend the license, but said it has been beneficial for U.S. rural communities. Ross suggested that Commerce would like to keep it going.
The U.S. should expand export controls against China and study the country’s efforts to dominate emerging technology sectors, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said. In its 2019 annual report, the USCC painted a somewhat grim picture for the prospects of U.S technology competition with China, saying China is committed to maintaining a dominant economic role in trade negotiations and is focused on outpacing the U.S. in the artificial intelligence sector -- a key area of concern for upcoming U.S. export control regimes. To combat this, the commission made several recommendations to Congress to safeguard U.S. technologies, improve foreign market access for U.S. exporters and pre-empt Chinese attempts to undercut U.S. companies and sanctions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security updated its Entity List by adding 22 entities, updating one entry and removing three entries, BIS said. The added entities include freight forwarding and logistics companies and a medical instrument supplier.
Two congresswomen are asking for more signatures for a letter that applauds the Commerce Department’s decision to place eight Chinese technology companies on the Entity List and urges the administration not to make concessions on the list in trade negotiations.The letter, written by Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., and Ann Wagner, R-Mo., to be sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also urges the State Department to impose sanctions on China for its oppression of the Uighur population.
The Commerce Department plans to release proposed export controls on emerging technologies within the “next few weeks” and an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on foundational technologies before the end of the year, a top Commerce official said. Matt Borman, the Commerce deputy assistant secretary for export administration, suggested Commerce has been eager to release both controls to ease concerns from U.S. trade groups and companies, which have warned the agency against overly broad, unilateral controls.