The Bureau of Industry and Security officially announced May 13 that it plans to rescind the Biden administration’s AI diffusion export control rule and issue a “replacement rule in the future.” BIS enforcement officials won't be enforcing the Biden-era rule, the agency said, which was scheduled to take effect May 15. The agency said it plans to publish a formal rescission notice in the Federal Register.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. is considering lifting sanctions against Syria to help give the Syrian people a “fresh start” following last year’s fall of the Bashar Assad regime.
Beijing has launched a "special operation" to crack down on illegal exports of critical minerals, such as gallium, germanium, antimony, tungsten and other rare earths, according to an unofficial translation of a May 9 Ministry of Commerce notice. The ministry said China's Office of the National Export Control Coordination Mechanism gathered agencies for a meeting to discuss how they can better stop export smuggling, specifically pointing to "overseas entities" that "have colluded with domestic illegal personnel" to evade Chinese export controls.
Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., introduced a bill May 7 that would require the administration to write a report to Congress on Hong Kong’s role in export control and sanctions evasion. The Stop Corrupt Communist Party Money Laundering Act, or Stop CCP Money Laundering Act, also would direct the Treasury Department to determine whether Hong Kong is a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern. The bill, which was referred to the House Financial Services and Foreign Affairs committees, is a companion to legislation that Sens. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced in April (see 2504080060).
The U.K. on May 9 added five people and four entities to the Russia sanctions list. The entities are Russian energy companies BX Energy and Nord Axis and financial service companies Romarine and Soglasie Insurance Co. Ltd. The individuals are the following five executives at sanctioned Russian energy company Coral Energy Group: Etibar Eyyub, Tahir Garayev, Ahmed Kerimov, Anar Madatli and Talat Safarov.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill last week that would require export-controlled advanced computing chips to contain location verification mechanisms to prevent their diversion to “adversaries” such as China.
The Trump administration’s request for an increased budget allocation for the Bureau of Industry and Security (see 2505020030) signals that export enforcement will be one of the administration's top priorities, said Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The U.S. needs to better enforce its existing export controls on advanced AI chips and chip equipment while bolstering its ability to screen Chinese investments that may be looking to evade those restrictions, several witnesses told Congress this week. But another witness said the current U.S. chip controls have so far failed and called on the government to rework its export control strategy.
David Sacks, the president's AI policy adviser, said the Biden-era AI diffusion export control rule was an “overreach” of U.S. export control authority and alienated American allies. The Bureau of Industry and Security’s plan to rescind the rule (see 2505070039 and 2505080026) was an “excellent decision,” he said last week.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., reintroduced a bill May 5 designed to strengthen sanctions against several sources of funding for Myanmar’s military.