Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced a package of rules designed to further impair China’s capability to produce advanced-node semiconductors that can be used in the next generation of advanced weapon systems and in artificial intelligence and advanced computing. In response, the Chinese government imposed further restrictions on the export of "dual use" commodities banning sales of gallium, germanium, antimony and tightening controls on graphite exports. The BIS controls target some, but not all affiliates of chip manufacturers SMIC and Huawei, as well as semiconductor manufacturing equipment manufacturers in the PRC.

On November 26, 2024, the Department extended the temporary modification of the Note to paragraph (h)(1) of USML Category VIII with regard to certain commodities used in the KF-21 aircraft or variants thereof.  

Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule imposing new controls on exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) involving six key categories of items – some of which were previously controlled for nuclear nonproliferation reasons – to Pakistan to address diversion concerns.

The State and Commerce Depaertments have extended the comment periods for their revisions to the EAR and ITAR governing Space - Related Export Controls.

House China Hawks wrote letters Friday to industry leaders in semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME), regarding their businesses' sales to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). "The …

The regulators responsible for drafting the biggest rulemaking changes to space-related export controls briefed stakeholders on the initiative,, addressed some initial questions, and urged engagement through comments as the rules are finalized. The November 6 presentation included officials from the State Department, Commerce and NASA who shared their perspectives on their remits. The event finished with a review of some questions submitted by stakeholders.

On Wednesday, November 6, the Department of Commerce (DOC) will host a public meeting to discuss the four space export control rulemakings released by DOC and the State Department on October 17, 2024. The meeting will feature speakers from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), and DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). …

The US Commercial service will be conducting a series of Export Compliance workshops in the coming months, visiting Tampa, Charlotte, Connecticut, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) imposed a civil penalty of $500,000 against GlobalFoundries U.S. Inc., a semiconductor wafer manufacturing company headquartered in Malta, New York, and its subsidiary, GlobalFoundries U.S. 2 LLC (collectively, “GlobalFoundries”). The penalty relates to GlobalFoundries’ shipments of semiconductor wafers valued at approximately $17.1 million to SJ Semiconductor (SJS), a company on the BIS Entity List, without the requisite license or other authorization from BIS.

Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. — all members of the AUKUS trilateral partnership — participated in "Maritime Big Play," a series of integrated experiments and exercises held in the Indo-Pacific region, meant to enhance capability development and improve interoperability between the partners.  As part of the experiments and exercises, the AUKUS partners tested and refined their ability to jointly operate uncrewed maritime systems, share and process naval data, and provide real-time maritime domain awareness in support of decision-making,.

Reports that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation chips have fueled the artificial intelligence accelerators of Chinese chip maker Huawei signal a “catastrophic failure of US export control policy,” according to House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-Mich). TSMC said in a statement on Monday that it had proactively reached out to the Commerce Department regarding the matter. It said it had not supplied chips to Huawei since mid-September 2020. “We are not aware of TSMC being the subject of any investigation at this time,” the company said.

The Department of State proposes amendments to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) focused on revisions to U.S. Munitions List (USML) Categories IV (Missiles and Launch Systems) and XV (Spacecraft and Space Items). The aim is to modernize the regulatory text, clarify definitions, and align the controls with national security and foreign policy objectives.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security  has released three rules—one Final Rule, one Interim Final Rule, and one Proposed Rule—to modernize BIS’s space-related export controls. The proposed revisions remove certain licensing requirements for Australia, Canada and The UK; looser rules for another 40 destinations; and transfer of certain items from the US Munitions List to the Commerce Control List.

In a case illustrating the long arm of US sanctions enforcement, Hanoi - based Vietnam Beverage Company Limited has agreed to pay $860,000  on behalf of two of its subsidiaries for apparent violations of OFAC sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).  The Thai-controlled brewer settled potential fines of nearly $16 million related to $1.4 million of shopments to North Korea.

BIS Wedensday published Federal Register notices soliciting comments on Cuban Agricultural trade licensing processes.  The Bureau also updated a table associated with with License Exceptions and made additions and deletions to the Unverified List.

The End-Use Certificate (DLA Form 1822) is submitted by individuals prior to releasing export-controlled personal property out of DoD control. Export-controlled personal property are items listed on the United States Munitions Lists or Commerce Control List, and includes articles, items, technical data, technology, or software. Transfers of export- controlled personal property out of DoD control may be in tangible and intangible forms.

The Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee (ETTAC) will meet on October 21, 2024, and The Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee (Committee) will meet on Tuesday, October 29, 2024

On September 23, the Inspector General's Office of the Department of Commerce released its audit of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS’) efforts to "counter China’s Military-Civilian Fusion strategy"   The auditors found the BIS export license approval process "adequate in reducing the risk" of controlled items being inappropriately approved for export to China. However, they found that BIS has "not minimized the risk of unauthorized release of controlled technologies and software to China."

House Republican national security leadership called for the White House to expand license-free defense trade among the U.S., U.K., and Australia to ensure the success of AUKUS Pillar Two and "unleash the combined potential of the three countries’ defense industrial bases to counter the Chinese Communist Party." The lawmakers contend the Excluded Technologies List (ETL) "jeopardizes the viability of Pillar Two."

The Department of Commerce has expanded the Validated End User (VEU) program with additional controls for data center items destined for China and India. Data Center VEU adopts much of the framework of the existing VEU program, with additional requirements. This expansion of eligibility is intended to update the VEU program to recognize the advancement and benefits of artificial intelligence.