The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 2 announced new export controls (see 2008100013 and 2005190052) on six emerging technologies. The controls, which were agreed to by Wassenaar Arrangement members during its 2019 plenary, include:

The administration should increase export controls and sanctions pressure on China, place more scrutiny on Chinese foreign direct investment and push for the modernization of multilateral export regimes, the House’s Republican-led China Task Force said in a Sept. 30 report. It urged the administration to act quickly, saying China and other U.S. “adversaries” are flouting international export control laws and undermining U.S. technology industries.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued guidance Oct. 1 on the sanctions risks of facilitating ransomware payments. The guidance urged companies to refrain from facilitating payments “on behalf of victims” of cyberattacks because they encourage future payment demands and may risk sanctions violations.

The State Department issued the final version of its guidance on exports of surveillance technology (see 1909040071 and 1911060049), which includes definitions and guidance principles for companies to weigh before exporting sensitive items to potential human rights abusers. The Sept. 30 guidance expands on the agency’s initial definition of human rights due diligence and offers a range of red flags and due diligence considerations, but did not significantly narrow its definition for surveillance items, despite requests from industry.

Multilateral export regimes need to be modernized to address new export and proliferation controls surrounding emerging technologies, technology proliferation experts said. While groups such as the Wassenaar Arrangement work well to control physical categories of items, they may overlook advancements in exports and other technology areas that could lead to proliferation of dual-use goods, the experts said.

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The Commerce Department informed some U.S. chip companies they need export licenses before shipping certain items to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China’s largest semiconductor maker, according to two people familiar with the situation. Commerce sent the information in a letter to companies last week, the people said, which effectively placed export controls on shipments to the Chinese company.

The European Union announced new initiatives to support its Customs Union and tackle a rise in smuggling, fraud and other trade challenges faced by member states. The initiatives, part of the EU’s Sept. 28 Customs Union Action Plan, include measures to combat customs duty fraud, a rollout of modern customs equipment under the next EU budget and an EU-wide single customs portal.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 25 issued guidance on sanctions against Hong Kong officials and renewed a general license authorizing certain transactions with the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (see 2007310028).

The U.S. needs to increase engagement with China to convince it to limit restrictions on foreign companies and to end unfair government subsidies, former U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said. Although Froman said he is “hopeful” the U.S. can secure these concessions through more trade negotiations, he also said the U.S. may need to focus more on its own industrial policy to remain technologically competitive with China.