House Panel Wants to Revoke Export Licenses for Huawei, SMIC

The House Appropriations Committee has included several export control provisions in a new report accompanying its version of the FY 2025 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Bill.

One provision calls for the Bureau of Industry and Security to rescind all licenses issued to entities to sell to Huawei, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) or their subsidiaries. Lawmakers have said the U.S. is providing too much advanced technology to the Chinese companies (see 2404260031).

The committee said it supports the agency's "desire to pursue an aggressive, innovative approach against China" but is concerned that BIS is still allowing U.S. companies to sell consumer semiconductor devices specifically to Huawei. If the bill is enacted, BIS would be required to brief the committee within 60 days on its export enforcement actions against Huawei, including by identifying any active licenses that authorize sales of chips to the technology company and provide an assessment about "whether these licenses have resulted in an effective monopoly to licensees."

BIS also would need to report to the committee about "how these monopoly licenses have impacted" U.S. national security, including whether they are allowing Huawei to develop its own chip capabilities and circumvent other U.S. licensing requirements. The committee also asks BIS to "outline steps to be taken to correct market distortions caused by past monopoly licenses" and "analyze the feasibility of implementing a competitive market review prior to issuing any license."

Another provision urges BIS to consider adding Chinese manufacturers of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems to its Entity List. The committee said the companies provide their technology for Chinese autonomous military vehicles and to conduct police and prison surveillance of China’s Uyghur minority.

The report also recommends that BIS develop regulations for adding foreign entities in allied nations to the Unverified List if the entities are found to be undermining U.S. export controls. In addition, BIS is encouraged to prevent foreign adversaries from investing in U.S. emerging and foundational technologies, and it is asked to submit a report on the equipment and funding it needs to modernize its “dilapidated” information technology systems.

The committee approved the underlying bill last week, sending it to the full House for its consideration. The bill would provide $186.7 million for BIS, $4.3 million below the FY 2024 enacted level and $36.7 million below the agency’s request (see 2406250035).