The Bureau of Industry and Security this month released the full set of comments it received on its pre-rule for foundational technologies (see 2008260045 and 2010070012), including hundreds of pages of feedback from U.S. and global semiconductor companies urging the agency to refrain from imposing narrow, unilateral export controls. BIS also received comments from some of the world’s largest technology companies, including Google and Microsoft, both of which told BIS that its controls could create unmanageable problems for compliance programs.

The State Department published its fall 2020 regulatory agenda. The agenda includes a new mention of a proposed rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to allow certain employees involved in ITAR activities to work remotely. The rule will revise the ITAR’s definition of a “regular employee” and clarify the “contractual relationships that meet the definition of regular employee.” The State Department sent the rule for interagency review this month (see 2012080011) and aims to issue the rule in February 2021.

The Bureau of Industry and Security reduced licensing restrictions for certain exports to Ukraine, Mexico and Cyprus by revising their Country Group designations in the Export Administration Regulations (see 2011230010), according to a final rule released Dec. 23. The rule moves Ukraine from Country Group D to County Group B and adds Mexico and Cyprus in Country Group A:6, making more license exceptions available for each country. The changes take effect Dec. 28.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) Dec. 23 to add the new military end-user list (see 2012210047), consisting of 103 entities subject to export licensing requirements, the agency said in a Dec. 22 notice. Licenses will be required to export, reexport or transfer certain items described in the EAR that are subject to military end-use (MEU) or end-user licensing requirements. A BIS spokesperson said the 102 cited in the notice is a typo.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Dec. 14-18 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

The Bureau of Industry and Security removed Hong Kong as a separate destination from China under the Export Administration Regulations (see 2012160010) in response to Hong Kong losing its autonomy from Beijing, BIS said in a Dec. 22 notice. The measures, which take effect Dec. 23, remove provisions that provide Hong Kong “differential and preferential treatment” for exports, reexports or transfers for items subject to the EAR.

The Bureau of Industry and Security published a set of frequently asked questions to provide industry guidance on its summer update to the foreign direct product rule, which increased restrictions on certain foreign-made items (see 2009170026). The guidance, issued this week, features FAQs that cover how the restrictions apply to companies and products, and how they impact prior exports, manufacturing plants, supply chains, prior licenses and more. BIS also outlined how the restrictions may apply to various scenarios faced by industry, including licensing responsibilities and due diligence requirements.

The Bureau of Industry and Security plans to officially release the first tranche of its military end-user list (see 2012080046) Dec. 22, naming 103 companies that require licenses to receive certain U.S. exports, reexports or transfers. The first tranche will include 58 Chinese and 45 Russian companies that represent an “unacceptable risk of use in or diversion to” a military end-use or military end-user in China, Russia or Venezuela, the Commerce Department said Dec. 21.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 77 entities and people to the Entity List, including China’s top chipmaker, to further prevent China and other countries from acquiring sensitive U.S. technologies, the agency said Dec. 18. Along with China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the Entity List additions include China-based DJI, one of the world’s largest drone makers, and companies in Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Malta, Pakistan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

Sen. Rob Portman, a former U.S. trade representative, said he's glad House Ways and Means Committee chief trade counsel Katherine Tai is the nominee for his old job, because he thinks “that will help with moving an agenda forward vis a vis Congress.” Portman was one of eight former USTRs speaking on a webinar Dec. 17 hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.