Electronics distribution company Broad Tech System and its president and owner, Tao Jiang of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty Jan. 11 to participating in a conspiracy to illegally ship chemicals made or distributed by a Rhode Island-based company to a Chinese firm with ties to the Chinese military, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island announced. Jiang and Broad Tech admitted to violating the Export Control Act and conspiring to commit money laundering.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week expanded its export controls against Russia and Belarus to cover a broader range of items and Harmonized System codes, including more industrial materials and aircraft parts. The agency also added new controls to better restrict exports used in Iran’s drone production, revised the de minimis treatment for certain military and spacecraft-related items, added a new license requirement exclusion and more.
The Bureau of Industry and Security published a new set of frequently asked questions for its recently updated semiconductor export controls (see 2310170055), offering guidance on the agency’s new export notification requirement, its controls on U.S. persons activities, the scope of its end-use controls, direction for electronic export information filers and more. The FAQs also give input on several export scenarios that may require a license and preview at least one export control revision that BIS plans to make.
The Commerce Department published its fall 2023 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including proposed rules involving its export controls for semiconductors and semiconductor equipment.
The Bureau of Industry and Security may be preparing to introduce new export rules for certain firearms, gun parts and ammunition, including one change that would require certain end-users to submit their passports to BIS and another that would shorten the validity period of certain licenses from four years to one year. Other changes could introduce new Export Control Classification Numbers for certain firearms and parts, require exporters to first obtain an import certificate from the importing country, and create a new working group to review firearms-related license applications.
A trade group is urging the Bureau of Industry and Security to revise its export controls surrounding encryption and mass-market goods, saying some of those less-sensitive items should no longer be subject to strict license requirements. The group also asked BIS to eliminate some encryption-related reporting requirements that burden compliance professionals and said the agency should devote more resources to its licensing division, which will help speed up decisions on applications and classification requests.
The semiconductor industry is pushing the Biden administration for more transparency surrounding its future plans for export controls on chips and chip tools, saying the uncertainty is causing more foreign customers to avoid using advanced U.S.-origin technology. The industry also warned that China has seen a sharp uptick in domestic orders for chips and chipmaking equipment following the most recent U.S. controls, potentially jeopardizing sales to the American semiconductor industry’s largest market.
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently published an advisory opinion that offers guidance on its genetic elements export controls under Export Control Classification Number 1C353.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week released a host of export control changes designed to ease license requirements and expand license exceptions for certain exports of pathogens and toxins, crime-control goods and missile technology items to U.S. allies. The agency also proposed changes to License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA) to try to convince more exporters to use the exception.
New analysis from Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology includes a table of more than 100 types of semiconductors and whether they’re subject to U.S. export licensing requirements. CSET also said a new red flag recently published by the Bureau of Industry and Security could cause foundries to ask more questions of customers seeking to produce advanced chips.