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On July 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) proposed a series of transformative new rules aimed at tightening controls related to military, intelligence, and security activities under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). These proposed changes are set to impact how businesses manage exports and interact with end users, expanding the scope of restrictions to cover a broader range of activities and entities. These proposed changes further the U.S. government’s policy goals of using export control regulations to protect human rights around the globe.Continue Reading Export Control Shake-Up: Navigating the Expanded Export Restrictions

As we pass the midpoint of a year marked by assertive enforcement of dual use laws, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an updated version of its Don’t Let This Happen to You! Guide. That guide, which was last updated in March 2024, includes numerous case examples illustrating BIS’s criminal and administrative enforcement actions. The update also comes with two additional BIS publications addressing measures to reduce diversion risks and a six-year review of BIS’s licensing strategy.Continue Reading BIS Summer Update: Essential Reading for Your Next Beach Trip!

On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) announced its first update to the boycott requester list. The list contains entities that have been reported by a U.S. person as having made a boycott-related request in connection with a transaction in the interstate or foreign commerce of the United States. The latest update adds 57 entities to the list and removes 127 entities. Some notable additions include entities from Japan and Germany.Continue Reading Commerce Updates Boycott Requester List

Export controls are the manifestation of foreign, economic, and national security policy, and the implementation of policy requires dynamic adjustment, a back-and-forth, a balance. So, on December 7, 2023[1], amid the tightening of new semiconductor regulations, BIS announced it was relaxing regulations around another set of exports. This drawing back of the controls arrives in the form of a set of three rules easing license requirements and expanding license exceptions. While seemingly disparate, each of the three areas of amendments represents a consistent push to align U.S. export policy with those of its allies and trade partners, as well as to reward those allies with (slightly) less burdensome controls.Continue Reading Carrot and Stick Export Controls: U.S. Export Controls Give Benefits to Allies

Key Takeaways

Continue Reading China Semiconductor Export Regulations, Episode III – What a Difference a Year Makes

The U.S. antiboycott laws and regulations have been around since the era of disco. In stark contrast to fast-moving sanctions and export controls, we rarely see updates to the antiboycott regulations or enforcement strategies. Last October, however, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced enhancements to its antiboycott enforcement strategy. As part of its implementation of this updated enforcement strategy, BIS has both expanded the scope of required antiboycott reports and flagged antiboycott compliance specifically for government contractors. These moves demonstrate how BIS plans to focus its enforcement efforts on Federal contractors.Continue Reading Antiboycott Update for Government Contractors and More

The United States and its allies are aiming to choke off the supplies that support the last vestiges of Russian industry. On May 19, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released new regulations implementing additional restrictions under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) as well as corrections and clarifications on existing controls for Russia and Belarus.[1] Those additions build on recent export control regulations issued on February 24, 2023 (which we discuss here) and significantly expand controls over items that can be used in even basic electronics and manufacturing. The new regulations continue BIS’s push to leave very little that may be sent into Russia from the United States.Continue Reading Everything but the Kitchen Sink (and Maybe That Too!): New Export Controls on Russia Cover Whole Categories of Low-Level Commercial Electronic and Mechanical Equipment

Between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing U.S. tensions with China, U.S. export controls are in the spotlight like never before. As if regulators have not already made it clear enough, recent statements and actions indicate that the enforcement crosshairs are squarely on the semiconductor industry.Continue Reading Watching the Detectives: Export Control Enforcement Trends Upward

Recently, the Department of Commerce issued a memo, emphasizing that “technology protection is a core national security priority” and how companies that choose not to disclose significant violations of export regulations may have to bear concrete costs for non-disclosure. This memo highlights the continued focus to control U.S. technology security breaches, especially in the semiconductor and advanced computing industries.Continue Reading Technology Protection is a Core National Security Priority: BIS Strengthens Its Policy on Disclosures