China’s so-called unreliable entity list could present compliance challenges for multinational companies and may be used to retaliate against U.S. export controls and sanctions, trade lawyers said. As a result, companies trying to comply with both U.S. and Chinese regulations may have to choose one over the other, risking sanctions from at least one country, law firms said.
The U.S. announced a range of new sanctions and restrictions against Iran, including an executive order, additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List (see 2009210018) and new sanctions by the Treasury and State Department. The executive order, issued Sept. 21, targets Iran-related arms transfers, while the Treasury and State Department’s sanctions target a range of people and entities associated with Iranian nuclear and arms development.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 47 entities and individuals to its Entity List for “acting contrary” to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. The additions include entities in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Designations were for a range of illegal procurement activities, including sending nuclear-related items and other products to Iran. BIS will also correct four existing entries under China.
China released regulations for its unreliable entity list that will target a “very small number of foreign entities” that violate Chinese laws. The regulations detail procedures for adding companies to the list but do not say when China will announce its first set of additions. “Foreign entities that are honest and law abiding do not need to worry,” China’s Commerce Ministry said Sept. 20, according to an unofficial translation.
The Bureau of Industry and Security plans to add 47 entities to its Entity List for “acting contrary” to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. The additions include entities in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. BIS designated the entities for a range of illegal procurement and nuclear-related activities, including sending nuclear-related items and other products to Iran. BIS will also correct four existing entries under China.
Industry should expect the Bureau of Industry and Security's increased activity around export controls to continue, including more additions to the Entity List and the “refinement” of export controls for Hong Kong, said Tim Mooney, a BIS senior export policy analyst.
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The Trump administration is considering placing export controls on China’s top chipmaker, the latest move in a campaign of restrictions aimed at Chinese technology companies. The controls would target the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation by placing it on the Commerce Department’s Entity List, Reuters said in a Sept. 4 report. The effort is being spearheaded by the Defense Department, the report said, which petitioned Commerce’s End User Committee last week to add SMIC to the Entity List.
The Trump administration “is committed to bold, decisive action” against China that protects U.S. national and economic security interests, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said during a virtual Bureau of Industry and Security conference on Sept. 2. He cited as evidence BIS' s additional export restrictions on Huawei (see 2008170029) and President Donald Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order banning U.S. transactions with the parent companies of TikTok and WeChat. “We each must remain alert to China’s malign behavior and that of other foreign entities that seek our sensitive technologies to damage our economic and national security,” Ross said. “China is a capable, effective and adaptable adversary with unconstrained resources, who regularly uses our American freedom and rules-based norms to advance its goal of dominating global markets.”
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 24-28 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.