The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)  added six companies to the Entity list Tuesday, four for their involvement in training Chinese military pilots in NATO tactics. BIS also added two UAE- based entities to the Entity List because they repeatedly engaged in “dilatory or evasive conduct, including the provision of false, misleading, or incomplete information, during end-use checks.”   

The Treasury Department Friday issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to implement Executive Order 14105 of August 9, 2023, “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern”. The NPRM builds on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by Treasury last August and provides the full draft regulations and explanatory discussion regarding the intent of the proposal, and solicits comment from the public

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) expects to issue a final rule this Summer revising the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to authorize the release of certain technology and software in the context of standards setting and development in standards organizations. Much of the rulemaking activity was initiated in response to the Huawei sanctions and US firms' continued participation in 5G telecoms standards negotiations.  The Bureau published the interim rule in June of 2020, incorporating comments in a follow on interim rule two years later.

BIS Published the final rule announced last week as part of the Administration's participation in the G7 summit. The bulk of the rule is as displayed last week, though the published version adds additional EAR 99 software to coordinate with allies,

The new Iran Foreign Direct Product rules go into effect next month, and the unusual way the rule was imposed may have left some practitioners unprepared.  Enacted by Congress with no input from the Deparetment of Commerce, the provisions of (HR. 6603) introduced by Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) were included in the massive emergency supplemental appropriation [HR 815] signed into law April 24th.  "This is the first time in the history of Congress that it passed a bill to codify a foreign direct product rule," Mr. Moran's office stated.

 This report documents defense articles and defense services licensed for permanent export to each foreign country and international organization during fiscal year 2023.

A senior Treasury Department official called for European allies to line up in applying pressure to Beijing to cease supporting the Kremlin's war efforts.     Citing the Russian econmy's "war footing," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said "this war is not just an existential threat to Ukraine, but to Europe and our national security."

China has announced export controls on certain equipment, software and technologies in key sectors ranging from aerospace to shipbuilding that matter to national security. Under the new policy, the controlled export products involve equipment and software in key industries, including aerospace structural components and engine manufacturing, gas turbine engine manufacturing, aerospace surface window-related equipment, and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber-related items, according to the notice.

Friday the Office of Missile, Biological, and Chemical Nonproliferation, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Department of State, named three individuals and two entities as violators of the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA). Industry should be aware of its compliance obligations and exercise extra vigilance due to the ubiquitous nature of many of the items, as Iran utilizes commercial-grade components in its weapons.

Wednesday the House Foreign Affairs Committee  passed H.R. 8315, the “Enhancing National Frameworks for Overseas Critical Exports Act” (ENFORCE Act) 43-3, with broad bipartisian support.   Introduced by Rep. Michael McCaul, the bill expands the authority of the BIS to control the export of Artificial Intelligence Systems.

Kevin Wolf at Akin Gump brings to our attention "a reminder re the scope of the GTN and how to read all technology ECCNs on the CCL (i.e., with a "required" limiter)," can be found in an advisory opinion published in 2014 by Eileen Albanese,  then Acting Director, Office of Exporter Services, now Director of the Office of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls Bureau,

The termination of general license 44A, which had offered temporary relief from Venezuel oil sanctions, reportedly has created a crush of license applications to OFAC.

A bill has been introduced in Congress to close a loophole in U.S. export control laws that is being exploited by China, according to its sponsors.   The Remote Access Security Act will ensure …

House China Hawks introduced the “Enhancing National Frameworks for Overseas Critical Exports Act” (ENFORCE Act), modifying the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA) The ENFORCE Act amends ECRA to give BIS the authority to export control-covered AI systems.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Chinese exports to Russia have risen by more than 60 percent .  Nathaniel Sher writes in Canegie Politika (link) that this trade is "nothing short of a lifeline to Russia's economy."

Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Department of State (T/PM/DDTC) is surveying Individuals and companies registered with DDTC and engaged in the business of manufacturing, brokering, exporting, or temporarily importing defense hardware or defense technology data.   The information collection in question is the Statement of Material Change, Merger, Acquisition, or Divestiture of a Registered Party.

A bipartisan group of senators have introduced legislation aimed at expanding the Australia- United Kingdom-United States partnership to include Japan in order to combat the growing threat of China. The Coordinating AUKUS Engagement with Japan Act directs the two AUKUS coordinators at the U.S. Departments of State and Defense to engage with Japan, and consult with counterparts in the U.K. and Australia, at technical level to better understand how Japan could augment the partnership and what steps Japan might need to take in order to engage quickly and meaningfully in AUKUS advanced technology projects.

BIS Publishes final rule making conforming and clarifying changes to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). These changes include making conforming changes to the EAR to ensure that destination names reflect the current destination names that are recognized by the United States Government, clarifying the removal of certain license requirements for exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) to and within Australia and the United Kingdom, making a conforming change to reflect that Cyprus is no longer a Country Group D:5 country, and clarifying how Russia and the Russian Federation are referenced for consistency with the designation of Russia as a U.S. Arms Embargoed destinations.

Reuters reports the Commerce Department is considering a new regulatory push to restrict the export of proprietary or closed source AI models There are currently no restrictions on the sale of AI models to foreign adversaries, presenting a potential national security risk.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to the Department of Defense (DoD), following a "deeply troubling" Wall Street Journal investigation revealing that Starlink, a satellite-internet service and subsidiary of DoD contractor SpaceX, is being used by Russia and other sanctioned U.S. adversaries, and concerns that the company has not taken appropriate action to stop this illicit activity.