Seven Republican senators have sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urging the Trump administration to withdraw the Biden-era Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule (AIDR). The senators argue that the rule, which imposes tiered restrictions on global access to U.S. AI technology, threatens American innovation and global competitiveness while failing to adequately counter China’s ambitions.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, has called on the Department of Commerce to immediately block exports of Nvidia’s H20 and other advanced AI chips to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), citing national security concerns and reports of undue influence in the administration’s export control decisions.
President Trump Wednesday signed a sweeping executive order aimed at overhauling the U.S. foreign defense sales system, seeking to reduce delays and regulatory barriers in the sale of military equipment to international partners. The directive—“Reforming Foreign Defense Sales to Improve Speed and Accountability”—initiates a broad set of reforms to the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) processes, with the stated aim of improving delivery predictability, enhancing allied burden-sharing, and invigorating the domestic defense industrial base.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Final Rule restricting the export of sensitive U.S. data to foreign entities took effect April 8, 2025. The rule targets data transactions involving individuals or entities linked to designated “countries of concern”—including China (with Hong Kong and Macau), Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) appears to be planning to keep at least some of the Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) which have long defined the collaborative nature of export enforcement and trade security. The candor and efficacy of the new regime may be different though.
As the Trump administration adopts a unilateral approach to arms control and regional defense, customary avenues of discussion are being reassessed, including multilateral export controls.
A federal indictment unsealed March 27 charges a dual Pakistan-Canada citizen for running a procurement scheme to acquire U.S.-origin goods and technologies on behalf of Pakistani entities linked to the country’s nuclear, missile, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced a final rule March 25th, amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 80 foreign entities to the Entity List. Sales to listed entities are presumed denied and require an export license. The new restrictions, while not altering the legal framework of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), appear to chart a trajectory toward broader control measures.
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), Chairman of the House Select China Committee has written Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik asking for a briefing on export controls on access to American universities' supercomputing resources.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly emerged as a transformative technology with significant implications for economic growth, scientific advancement, and national security. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), along with its Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee (ETTAC), has been evaluating the implications of AI export controls. A March 10 ETTAC public meeting highlighted some of the challenges, strategies, and policy directions to manage the proliferation of AI-related technologies while defending the West’s competitive edge.
The Commerce Department has reportedly suspended processing applications for new export licenses with no communication to stakeholders. The pause has created confusion among users of the Simplified Network Application Process Redesign (SNAP-R) system, managed by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Department leadership is in flux, pending the installation of political appointees.
Rep Mark Green (R-TN) once again introduced his China Technology Transfer Control Act, having failed to advance the initiative in the 116th, 117th and 118th Congress. There were no co-sponsors. The bill controls exports of certain national interest technology and intellectual property to China, calling for the US Trade Representative to maintain a designated list of product components subject to enforcement.
On February 11, 2025, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a correcting amendment to the interim final rule published on January 16, 2025, titled “Implementation of Additional Due Diligence Measures for Advanced Computing Integrated Circuits; Amendments and Clarifications; and Extension of Comment Period.” This correction revises Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) 3A090 by amending its license requirements table. Specifically, the first row’s first column is changed from “RS applies to the entire entry, except 3A090.a” to “RS applies to 3A090.a.” This modification clarifies that regional stability controls apply solely to ECCN 3A090.a items.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo) are calling on the Commerce Department to beef up export controls on China. In a letter to Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, the two members of the Banking Committee said the Administration needs to strengthen export controls and close regulatory loopholes that are undercutting US technology leadership against challenges from China.
A European Commission report assessing patterns of Member-State exports of dual-use items shows that both authorisations and denials for the export of those most sensitive goods is on the rise as compared to 2021. The report includes, for the first time, extensive information on licensing data that will allow for a better understanding of how export controls are applied, and the risks identified relating to exports of sensitive items in the current geopolitical context.
House China hawks called for the National Security Advisor to review the potential national security benefits of placing export controls on semiconductor chips critical to the AI infrastructure of People's Republic of China (PRC) company, DeepSeek. As part of the review, the lawmakers also asked to strengthen controls on shipments through third countries that pose a high risk of diversion to the PRC. The lawmakers further requested that Mr. Waltz consider updating Federal Acquisition Regulations to prohibit the federal government from acquiring AI systems based on PRC models such as DeepSeek, except for appropriate intelligence and research purposes.
The State Department released an update on the prior year's arms trade, with Foreign Military Sales at their highest levels in history and Direct Commercial Sales up smartly from the prior period. In FY2024 the total value of transferred defense articles and services and security cooperation activities conducted under the Foreign Military Sales system was $117.9 billion. This represents a 45.7% increase, up from $80.9 billion in FY2023.
The Department of State amends the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to remove from the U.S. Munitions List (USML) items that no longer warrant inclusion, add to the USML items that warrant inclusion, and clarify certain entries. With these amendments, the Department also supersedes and thus terminates the temporary modification to USML Category VIII that was published on December 4, 2023, and extended on November 26, 2024.
BIS added 11 Chinese entities to the Entity List, 10 for advanced artificial intelligence research and one for development of lithography technology for advanced-node fabrication facilities. The committee also removed three Indian nuclear research entities after diplomatic considerations. In another filing the same day, BIS added 16 entities to the Entity List, under the destinations of China, People's Republic of (China) (14) and Singapore (2) due to their involvement in supporting or directly contributing to the development of advanced computing integrated circuits (ICs) that further China's development of advanced weapons systems, weapons of mass destruction, and high-tech surveillance applications, and because these entities supply Chinese public security end users and pose a risk of diversion to Huawei, an entity on the Entity List. …
Alan Estevez, Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, delivered remarks January 14th at Washington's CSIS Wadhwani AI Center, focusing on the evolving role of export controls in safeguarding U.S. national security and addressing technological threats. The conversation, moderated by Greg Allen, Director of CSIS's Wadhwani AI Center, covered key achievements, challenges, and future priorities for the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).