Nikakhtar No Longer Acting Commerce Undersecretary for Industry and Security

Nazak Nikakhtar is no longer the acting Commerce Department undersecretary for industry and security, a position she held as she awaited confirmation from the Senate, a Commerce spokesperson said. Nikakhtar is no longer performing that duty and is now focused solely on her role as assistant secretary for industry and analysis. Her nomination has not yet been officially withdrawn.

“Nazak Nikakhtar has decided to return to her Senate confirmed role as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis, a critical position here at the Department, where she will continue to advance the Administration’s trade and national security policy priorities,” a Commerce spokesperson said in an email. The change was first reported by Inside U.S. Trade.

No one is currently working as Commerce undersecretary for industry and security, which is the leader of the Bureau of Industry and Security, while a replacement remains unidentified. “The Department has a committee of folks working diligently to determine who will be in charge in the meantime,” the spokesperson said, declining to say why Nikakhtar stepped aside.

The White House announced Nikakhtar’s nomination on April 11 to replace Mira Ricardel, who had resigned. Since then, Nikakhtar has represented BIS as the agency fielded questions and mounting pressure from U.S. industry regarding BIS’s Entity List, export restrictions to Huawei (see 1907090068) and the agency’s upcoming export controls on emerging and foundational technologies (see 1907100044).

Nikakhtar was also pressured by senators who criticized her delay of a study related to the Section 232 auto tariffs. In July, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked a Commerce ethics official to investigate whether Nikakhtar, who previously worked as a lawyer, should be required to recuse herself when former clients have matters before Commerce, specifically regarding the steel and aluminum Section 232 exclusion process (see 1907150052).