BIS Narrows Public Access to Tech Advisory Meeting

Continuing a a top-down policy of discouraging public participation in the policymaking process, the Bureau of Industry and Security will give the public only a brief window into its June 2 meeting of the Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee, continuing a broader shift toward more restricted industry-government engagement on export-control policy.

The Federal Register notice, published May 14, says ETTAC will meet from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern at Commerce Department headquarters in Washington. The open session is scheduled to last about 15 minutes, ending at approximately 9:15 a.m., while the closed session will run most of the day, from about 9:30 a.m. to no later than 4 p.m.

BIS said the meeting will be held in person “with no option for virtual attendance,” though the same notice later instructs individuals interested in participating virtually to contact the agency by May 27. 

The notice says ETTAC will use the open session to consider public comments and/or industry presentations. The closed session will address “U.S. Government strategies and potential revisions to export control policies,” including identification of emerging technologies that are not currently controlled but may warrant controls.

BIS said the closed portion may include pre-decisional changes to the Commerce Control List, export-control policy, and confidential business information. 

The move is significant because ETTAC is one of BIS’s key formal channels for technical input from industry and academia on fast-moving technologies.

BIS’s own description says the committee advises on trends and innovations across all Commerce Control List categories to help identify emerging and foundational technologies. 

BIS has long closed portions of TAC meetings when discussions involve classified, confidential or pre-decisional export-control matters. The issue for exporters and counsel is the apparent narrowing of the public-facing portion of the process at a time when BIS is considering major changes to controls on artificial intelligence, advanced computing, semiconductor equipment, biotechnology and other sensitive technologies.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has defended the broader rollback of Commerce advisory panels by arguing that some committees had outlived their usefulness. Members of the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee were told the committee’s mission “has been fulfilled,” according to reporting based on Commerce emails. 

In his nomination hearings BIS Chief Jeffrey Kessler assured lawmakers he would involve the TACs:

“BIS should listen to the voices of all stakeholders on the policy issues that it confronts, and then make decisions on an objective basis, consistent with the national interest. If confirmed, this is how I will lead BIS,” he said.

Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee