The Census Bureau added two new license codes and revised an existing license code in the Automated Export System this week to reflect the Bureau of Industry and Security's latest export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) (see 2412020016).
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is an agency within the Commerce Department responsible for overseeing dual-use export controls outlined within the Export Administration Regulations. BIS says its mission is to protect strategic U.S. industries and prevent illegal transfers of sensitive American technology.
The U.S. must continue to coordinate with allies on export controls, especially around Russia-related trade restrictions and curbs on advanced semiconductors and semiconductor tools destined to China, the Bureau of Industry and Security's Thea Kendler said during her final international outreach event as a Biden administration official.
The Bureau of Industry and Security named Tara Gonzalez as director of the agency’s Emerging Technology Division, she announced this week on LinkedIn. Gonzalez joined BIS in 2020, and was most recently a senior policy adviser within the division.
The latest U.S. semiconductor-related export restrictions represent a strengthening of controls on China along with a “massive” expansion of foreign direct product rule restrictions, but they also include some head-scratching loopholes that chip firms will exploit, semiconductor policy researchers said this week.
Companies have experienced a loss of business and other negative financial effects as a result of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s October 2022 and October 2023 rules restricting exports of advanced computing chips and chipmaking equipment (see 2310170055), the Government Accountability Office said in a new report released Dec. 2.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will hold a virtual public briefing 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST on Dec. 5 about its new export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment (see 2412020016). Registration closes at 1 p.m. EST on Dec. 5.
A new set of U.S. export controls announced this week target a range of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, chip software tools, high-bandwidth memory and more, including by introducing new license obligations on certain foreign-made tools that the Bureau of Industry and Security said can be used by China to make advanced chips for its military. BIS also added more than 100 entities to the Entity List, most based in China, for aiding Beijing's military technology goals.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added more than 100 entities to the Entity List and released a new set of semiconductor-related export controls on Dec. 2, introducing new license requirements for both U.S.-origin and foreign-produced chip tools and publishing new red flag guidance on how companies should be vetting Chinese chip factories.
Although President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to dismantle the federal bureaucracy in Washington, a key architect of recent DOJ export control and sanctions initiatives believes those efforts will echo through the next administration.
A new Bureau of Industry and Security license exception that could allow U.S. exporters to continue shipping certain advanced technologies to a list of close American allies is promising, but it presents some “limitations” if not implemented correctly, the Center for Strategic and International studies said this week.