Commerce Announces Rule to Help Industry Participate In Standards Setting Bodies

The Commerce Department announced a new rule that it said will help U.S. companies participate in international standard-setting bodies where Huawei is a member. Under the rule, companies will no longer need an export license to disclose technology to Huawei if that disclosure is for the “purpose of standards development in a standards-development body,” Commerce said in a June 15 press release. In addition, companies may only disclose technology to Huawei if that technology would not have required an export license before Huawei’s placement on the agency’s Entity List last year.

Specifically, the rule authorizes the release of technology designated under Export Administration Regulations 99 “or controlled only for Anti-Terrorism reasons on the Commerce Control List,” Commerce said. The rule will not allow technology disclosures for commercial purposes, the agency said. Commerce did not provide the official text of the rule or an effective date, but said it sent the rule to the Federal Register June 12.