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.
Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., are asking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos questions about his company's contracts with Dahua Technology, a Chinese company that is on the Commerce Department Entity List and reportedly sells facial recognition software used to track Uighurs' movements. In a Feb. 10 letter, the senators asked, “When did you become aware of the reports of Dahua Technology’s participation in China’s state surveillance system against the Uyghurs and other groups targeted by the party-state?” They asked if officials knew Dahua Technology was on the Entity List when Amazon agreed to buy $10 million worth of cameras. “While buying equipment from Dahua Technology is not illegal, it does raise several questions for you as the Chief Executive of Amazon,” they 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.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, put a hold on the commerce secretary nominee over the future of restrictions on Huawei. Gina Raimondo, in written responses to Senate Finance Committee members' questions, said, “I currently have no reason to believe that entities on those lists [the Entity List and the Military End User List] should not be there. If confirmed, I look forward to a briefing on these entities and others of concern.” That was not definitive enough for Cruz, who tweeted Feb. 4 he would lift the hold when the Biden administration “commits” to keeping Huawei on the Entity List. Cruz does not have the power to prevent the Senate from bringing the nomination for a vote, but he could filibuster if there are not at least 60 votes to cut off debate. Most Finance Committee Republicans voted to advance her nomination, so it's quite possible a filibuster could be avoided. Raimondo's nomination is not expected to advance before or during the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.
Commerce secretary nominee Gina Raimondo was asked several times in written questions from senators after her hearing about how she would balance the need to prevent cutting edge technologies from being shared with adversaries but also allow U.S. semiconductor manufacturers to compete with foreign companies that don't have the same restrictions on selling chips.
Three Republican senators asked President Joe Biden’s commerce secretary nominee to clarify whether she would consider removing Huawei from the Entity List, saying such a move would hurt U.S. competitiveness. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ben Sasse of Nebraska said they were concerned when Gina Raimondo declined to tell lawmakers last month whether she would remove export restrictions from Huawei or other Chinese companies (see 2101260047). They also said they will oppose the confirmation of other Biden nominees if they do not outline a clearer, tougher stance on Huawei and other Chinese companies.
Gina Raimondo, President Joe Biden’s nominee for commerce secretary, declined to say whether she plans to keep Huawei and other Chinese technology companies on the Entity List but made clear that Commerce will aggressively tackle illegal Chinese trade practices and human rights abuses. Speaking before the Senate Commerce Committee Jan. 26, Raimondo told lawmakers that the agency won’t make decisions on Chinese trade restrictions until completing a sweeping review of the measures and assessing their impact on U.S. national security (see 2101250049). “The President has been clear that we need to step back and review broadly our trade policies as it relates to China,” Raimondo said.
The Joe Biden administration has begun a comprehensive review of U.S. trade policies involving China, including several of the restrictions imposed by the Trump administration during its final months, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. Among those restrictions is the export controls placed on goods destined for Huawei (see 2012210044).
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Jan. 11-15 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Congress and the incoming administration should strengthen and maintain a range of export controls and sanctions to prevent China from acquiring sensitive U.S. technologies and items used for repression, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China said in its 2020 annual report. The report and an executive summary, issued Jan. 14, urge the U.S. to continue to dedicate resources to restrict exports to China in order to prevent human rights violations.