President Donald Trump last week revoked the Biden administration’s 2023 executive order on artificial intelligence, which could have ramifications for recent AI-related export controls issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security.
Companies that send tips about possible sanctions breaches to the new U.K. Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation won’t necessarily be notified if their tips lead to an enforcement action, the agency said in new guidance last week.
Although the Bureau of Industry and Security's new artificial intelligence export control framework published earlier this month is “promising,” it also lacks flexibility and omits some key U.S. allies, the Rand think tank said in a new report.
President Donald Trump took several steps during his first day in office to reverse, delay or scrutinize trade- and sanctions-related actions introduced by the Biden administration, ordering agencies to study existing export controls for possible loopholes, consider changes to outbound investment restrictions, or possibly postpone some of Biden’s recently issued rulemakings. Trump also revoked a sanctions authority that had targeted Israeli settlers in the West Bank and previewed plans to step up sanctions against drug cartels.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is planning to hold its annual update conference March 18-20 in Washington, according to the agency’s website. Registration for the conference hasn’t yet opened.
California-based machine tool manufacturer Haas Automation will pay more than $2.5 million to the U.S. government after being accused of illegally shipping parts and other items to sanctioned and Entity Listed companies in China and Russia.
The Biden administration’s last-minute publication of complex, consequential national security-related rulemakings appear to “bypass standard rulemaking processes” and are creating challenges for American technology companies, six trade groups representing major U.S. tech firms wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden earlier this week.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is revising its trade regulations to add and remove items from the U.S. Munitions List and to clarify the control scope of others. The changes, outlined in an interim final rule released Jan. 16 and effective Sept. 15, include new defense articles that DDTC said should be subject to export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and delete others “that no longer warrant inclusion” or that will soon become subject to the Commerce Department’s licensing jurisdiction.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week issued a summary of the various export control actions it has taken under the Biden administration, including its various semiconductor-related rules, export restrictions against Russia, Entity Listings, academic outreach efforts (see 2408140049) and more. It also highlighted the administration’s export control work with U.S. allies, including with the U.K. and Australia under the AUKUS partnership (see 2404180035), initiatives with Japan and South Korea (see 2404260067), and enforcement coordination with the Group of 7 nations (see 2409250004).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is placing new export controls on certain laboratory equipment that can be used for biotechnology purposes that may threaten U.S. national security, the agency said in an interim final rule released this week.