The Bureau of Industry and Security has completed a round of interagency review for a proposed rule that could lead to changes to the Export Administration Regulations to “control U.S. persons support of security end users and end uses.” The rule also “proposes restrictions on exports, re-exports, and transfers (in-country) to these end users and end uses,” BIS said. The agency completed its interagency review July 12.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is revising its regulations so that export controls don’t “impede or jeopardize” U.S. participation in international standards-setting bodies and other standards-related activities (see 2406180014), the agency said in an interim final rule released July 17.
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently suspended the export privileges of four people, including two for violating U.S. restrictions against Russia and two others for illegal ammunition exports.
The Commerce Department’s spring 2024 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security features a range of upcoming rules that could update and expand U.S. export control regulations, including new controls on the activities of U.S. persons in support of foreign military and intelligence agencies, revised regulatory language to address “diversion concerns,” new multilateral restrictions on emerging technologies and broader license requirements for Pakistan.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is recommending exporters, reexporters and other businesses add a new customer screening tool to their due diligence steps before trading in goods that could later be diverted to Russia’s military, especially for microelectronics and other sensitive goods Russia is looking to import. In new guidance published this week, BIS also clarified the specific compliance steps companies and universities should take if they receive a red-flag letter, an is-informed letter or other written warnings from the agency about certain risky customers or transactions.
A Hallandale, Florida, resident was charged on July 2 with smuggling controlled goods into Russia from the U.S. Kirill Gordei, president of Florida-based freight forwarding company Apelsin Logistics, faces three counts -- conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S., smuggling goods from the U.S. and exporting a spectrometer, a controlled item, unlawfully -- DOJ announced. A Belarus citizen and U.S. permanent resident, Gordei faces maximums of five, 10 and 20 years in prison for the charges, respectively.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week added six entities to the Entity List for either helping to train China’s military, evading U.S. government end-use checks or shipping export-controlled items to Russia. The agency also updated its Unverified List, adding 13 new parties and removing eight others, including one Russian company that it transferred to the Entity List earlier this year. Both rules took effect July 3.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will add six entities to the Entity List and update its Unverified List to include 13 new parties and remove eight others, the agency said in a pair of rules released July 2 and effective July 3.
The Bureau of Industry and Security made its first update to its new boycott Requester List, a list of entities that have asked other companies to boycott goods from certain countries in violation of the Export Administration Regulations. The agency said freight forwarders, banks and other entities involved in international trade transactions should review the list to help them comply with BIS antiboycott rules.
Indiana University will avoid a fine but must meet several government-imposed export compliance commitments after it illegally exported genetically modified fruit flies carrying a controlled toxin, the Bureau of Industry and Security announced this week. The school voluntarily disclosed the illegal exports and admitted to 42 violations of the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said, which helped IU avoid a monetary penalty.