Licensing Turmoil Persists

BIS’s licensing backlog has become a management test for Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler, exposing the gap between a tougher export-control posture and the bureau’s obligation to keep lawful technical trade moving. BIS’s last public benchmark showed average license processing at 38 days in FY 2023, but semiconductor and technology exporters now report waits of six to ten months, weaker communication and lost business. The record does not show Kessler created the backlog, but industry criticism has sharpened under his tenure as exporters, lawmakers and analysts question whether BIS can impose rigorous national-security controls without making U.S. suppliers unreliable in the markets those controls are meant to protect.