Technology companies, trade groups, think tanks and researchers urged the government to be cautious as it evaluates its semiconductor-related export controls and prepares new ones, warning that misguided restrictions could cede American technology leadership to China, hurt the competitiveness of U.S. companies and raise the complexity of an already fraught compliance landscape.
The U.S. charged four Chinese nationals this week for their parts in a yearslong conspiracy to violate export controls by smuggling electronic parts through China and to Iran.
Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., announced Jan. 31 that she has introduced a bill to revamp U.S. export control processes to make it harder for China and other “foreign adversaries” to obtain sensitive technology.
As the U.S. pursues new export controls on emerging technologies destined to China, it’s also focusing heavily on updating existing controls to close loopholes and keep pace with technological changes, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said this week.
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The Bureau of Industry and Security reached a $153,175 settlement with Wabtec, a U.S. rail technology manufacturer and supplier, after the company violated BIS’ antiboycott regulations. The agency said Wabtec committed 43 violations when it failed to report to BIS that it received requests from a Pakistani customer to boycott goods from Israel.
C-suite officials need to be more involved in their companies’ export compliance programs, the Bureau of Industry and Security’s top export enforcement official said this week. He also urged businesses to review -- and potentially expand -- their current programs to keep pace with export controls risks, especially as various government agencies work more closely together on investigations, indictments and sanctions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeing fewer unintended impacts from its most recent October 2023 chip controls compared with the initial set of rules released in 2022, a BIS official said this week. The official also said BIS is working to identify certain companies, including potentially Chinese chip making facilities, that are restricted from receiving sensitive U.S. chip manufacturing equipment, which could help exporters more easily do due diligence on their customers and supply chain partners.
The Commerce Department is proposing new rules that could require U.S. cloud service providers and their foreign resellers to follow know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, a step the agency said would prevent those services from being used to aid cyberattacks and to train artificial intelligence models that threaten U.S. national security. The proposed regulations are specifically aimed at preventing “foreign malicious cyber actors” from using U.S. infrastructure-as-a-service products to steal American intellectual property and sensitive data, commit espionage, and train large AI models for cyberattacks on U.S. critical infrastructure.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is undergoing a restructuring to separate its licensing work from its efforts to evaluate and protect emerging and foundational technologies, said Eileen Albanese, director of the Office of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls. She said the agency plans to hire at least three new senior officials to usher in the reorganization, which will help BIS meet its “broader mandate.”