The European Commission is stepping up efforts to make sure that sensitive technologies do not fall into the wrong hands, by paving the way for better coordination of export controls at EU level.  Under the EU’s Dual-Use Regulation, Member States have the opportunity to coordinate their export controls on items for which export controls have not been agreed multilaterally.

The US. State Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation, in coordination with partners from the Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Police Agency, and National Intelligence Service are releasing a joint public service announcement (PSA)  with updated guidance on red flag indicators and due diligence measures to help companies avoid hiring Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) information technology (IT) workers posing as non-DPRK nationals. This update identifies new tradecraft used by DPRK IT workers since the release of the 2022 advisories, including new indicators of potential DPRK IT worker activity and additional due diligence measures the international community, private sector, and public can take to prevent the hiring of DPRK IT workers.

The Commerce Department appears to be considering a fast-track system, posting on their website: "Submit your Israel licensing requests here: IsraelEmergencyLicense@bis.doc.gov". There is no further guidance, including whether the application must be submitted through the electronic export license application, known as SNAP, and the time limit for issuing ”emergency” export licenses.

On Tuesday 17 October, the Commerce Department tightened controls over exports of AI-specific semiconductors. This move makes it more challenging for U.S. firms like Nvidia and Intel to market their current products in China or to launch new products as workarounds. Addressing oversights: This step is designed to mend potential oversights in the export regulations declared last year. Those regulations had been met with notable resistance from the international semiconductor sector and increased strains with Beijing.

At the recent Defense Trade Advisory Group Meeting, Timothy A. Betts, the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, presented an overview of the significant developments and accomplishments of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), as well as the announcement of his replacement by Compliance Director Jae Shin.

During the December 2022 Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies (WA) Plenary meeting, Participating States of the WA  made certain decisions affecting the WA dual-use and munitions control lists, which BIS is now implementing via amendments to the CCL. BIS seeks comments on restricting STA eligibility for countries in EAR Country Group A:5 of certain technology for the development of supersonic aero gas turbine engine components controlled under ECCN 9E003.k, formerly controlled under ECCN 9E001 as part of its ongoing assessment of current export control licensing policy.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is issuing a rule updating the general authorizations for Samsung and SK hynix—companies headquartered in the Republic of Korea (RoK) – for their semiconductor fabrication facilities in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). Samsung’s and SK hynix’s PRC facilities are Validated End-Users (VEUs). VEUs can apply for, and after national security review and approval by the U.S. government, obtain a general authorization to acquire certain items rather than seeking multiple individual licenses. Today’s rule updates the items that may be exported to these companies under the VEU authorization.

The Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is issuing a new ITAR Compliance Risk Matrix, accompanied by a supplemental risk matrix specific to universities. These risk matrices are intended to assist organizations in assessing their level of ITAR compliance risk and assist in the evaluation of potential compliance risks that are specific to each organization and that, if left unaddressed, may lead to ITAR violations. The new risk matrices are available for download on the DDTC website.

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has published new best practice guidance for industry to help prevent items that are considered the most significant to Russian weaponry requirements from being diverted for use in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The. Septermber 28 guidance recommends that exporters and reexporters of these highest priority items seek written assurances of compliance from their customers to help prevent diversion.

The U.S. is poised to indefinitely lift export restrictions on exports of semiconductor equipment to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix's China facilities. Business Korea reports  the. …

As a follow-up to the establishment of the “Export Enforcement Five” or “E5” partnership to coordinate on export control enforcement issues in June 2023, the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States have issued joint guidance to industry and academia identifying high priority items critical to Russian weapons systems and urging specific actions to prevent diversion of these items to Russia through third countries.

The State Department charged Island Pyrochemical Industries Corp. with three violations of the Arms Export Control Act and and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations on Aug. 25. According to the State Department, Island brokered with a Chinese company without its approval. The Department also charged Island with "falsely listing itself as the seller and source of the defense article on a DSP-5 license application" in 2015.

After complaining since at least 2005 that "we really need to do something about ITAR. It is really hurting U.S. industry,” and citing export controls for not hiring eligible non-citizens, South African immigrant Elon Musk's company SpaceX has been sued by the Justice Department for employment discrimination. The United States Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) for discriminating against asylees and refugees in its hiring process. The lawsuit contends that from September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX deliberately discouraged such individuals from applying for positions within the company, violating the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

In a sign that more rigorous policies to ensure host country cooperation are bearing fruit, Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced that 33 parties will be removed from the Unverified List, 27 of which are based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with others located in Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.  BIS is taking this action because it was able to establish the bona fides – i.e., legitimacy and reliability relating to the end use or end user of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) – of these parties through the successful completion of end-use checks.

The Bureau of Industry & Security published an advisory opinion on the release of licensed technology to employees of the foreign subsidiary while on temporary work assignment at the home office.  No additional deemed export license is required for these employees, while any new “technology” or “software” that is either “released” to those employees in the United States or created in the United States that is not authorized by the existing BIS license would require a new export license or other authorization from BIS.

The Census Bureau issues this final rule amending its regulations to reflect new export reporting requirements related to the State Department, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) Category XXI Determination Number. Specifically, the Census Bureau is adding a conditional data element, DDTC Category XXI Determination Number, when “21” is selected in the DDTC USML Category Code field in the Automated Export System (AES) to represent United States Munitions List (USML) Category XXI.

With everyone in Washington now holding an opinion on Export Controls, the State Department's Bureau of Political - Military Affairs published a useful one pager.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) of the Education and the Workforce Committee, recently sent a letter to the President and Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. expressing concerns about the University's joint institute with Tsinghua University and the Shenzhen government in China.. The lawmakers pointed out that the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI) provides the People's Republic of China (PRC) with easy access to Berkeley's research and expertise. They emphasized that this access potentially allows the PRC to gain economic, technological, and military advantages.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, a move that signifies progress for the AUKUS security pact. The decision was part of the National Defense Authorization Act, granting Australia a unique 20-year exemption from the stringent export rules of ITAR.

Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing a final rule to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR) to reduce the concentration threshold level above which mixtures containing a Schedule 2A chemical are subject to the declaration requirements.