In this final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to make a technical correction that also serves to clarify provisions of the EAR pertaining to the release of “software” as set out in the sections on release and transfer of access information.

House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc) and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich) are calling on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to withhold any federal support for Chinese battery companies in the United States.    The lawmakers – in a letter to Ms. Yellen – specifically scrutinized Treasury for greenlighting new plans for a Michigan battery factory owned and operated by China based Gotion High-Tech Company.  

Actions to restrict foreign investment in the United States must be “carefully scoped and targeted,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said yesterday at the second annual Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States conference.   The inter-agency CFIUS reviews the national security implications of specific foreign investment in the United States.

President Biden announced yesterday he has tapped former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker for the newly-created position of US Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery.  In her new position, Ms. Pritzker will work with the Ukrainian government, US allies and partners, international financial institutions and the private sector to drive US efforts to help rebuild the Ukrainian economy following Russia’s invasion, according to a White House statement.

GLs 8 and 9 were issued on August 9, 2023, regarding: Transactions Involving Joint Stock Company Byelorussian Steel Works Transactions Involving Open Joint Stock Company Belavia Belarusian Airlines

The President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees, not less than annually, that: (A) the Government of the Republic of Cyprus is continuing to cooperate with the United States Government in efforts to implement reforms on anti-money laundering regulations and financial regulatory oversight; and (B) the Government of the Republic of Cyprus has made and is continuing to take the steps necessary to deny Russian military vessels access to ports for refueling and servicing. The Secretary of State has certified to the appropriate congressional committees that the Republic of Cyprus meets the statutory requirements to remove the policy of denial for exports, reexports, and transfers of defense articles to the Republic of Cyprus for fiscal year 2024.

House Republicans, led by Chairman Michael McCaul, have urged the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to take stringent action against Chinese tech giants Huawei and SMIC. According to a letter sent to BIS Under Secretary Alan Estevez, the lawmakers cited national security concerns following reports of Huawei's new smartphone which integrates 7-nanometer chips developed by SMIC, allegedly violating U.S. export control regulations.

Along with numerous Russian entities and persons, OFAC is is designating a Finland-based network that specializes in shipping foreign electronics to Russia-based end-users, as well as Turkish firms involved in the shipment of dual-use items into Russia.

OFAC continues its efforts to target Russian elites and firms that benefit from their ties to Russia’s defense sector, military-industrial complex, and affiliation with the Kremlin.   September 13 OFAC imposed nearly 100 sanctions on Russian elites and Russia’s industrial base, financial institutions, and technology suppliers, along with designations of more than 70 persons. Industries affected range from Railroad Equipment and heavy machinery to digital optical systems, diamonds traders, and the Wagner Group's advisor to the president of the Central African Republic. …

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is issuing Russia-related General License 55A, "Authorizing Certain Services Related to Sakhalin-2" permitting shipment of Russian oil to Japan, and Russia-related General License 72, "Authorizing the Wind Down of Transactions Involving Certain Entities Blocked on September 14, 2023." Permitting transactions with

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), issued a subpoena to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, USSA International LLC, for documents related to PIF’s takeover of American golf and other investments throughout the United States. “The Saudi’s Public Investment Fund cannot have it both ways: if it wants to engage with the United States commercially, it must be subject to United States law and oversight,” Blumenthal said. “That oversight includes this Subcommittee’s inquiry.”

Congress, through various means, has shown sustained interest in the export policy, emphasizing the balance between maintaining U.S. technological leadership and preventing adversaries from accessing advanced technologies. Christopher Casey of the Congressional Research Service penned a report released September 8 that frames this topic for policymakers and practicioners alike.

Gerry Horner, Chief of the Trade Regulations Branch at the US Census Bureau, gave the committee an update on two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking: the Routed Export Transaction rule, published prior to 2019, and the Country of Origin data element, released in December 2021.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee met September 12th, with little news, but steady progress on the rulemaking front.

President Biden and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong of the Communist Party of Vietnam met in early September and initiatied a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," a status Vietnam reserves for its closest partners, emphasizing peace, cooperation, and sustainable development. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam remains categorized as a "non-market economy," and is treated less favorably under US anti-dumping law.  Removal of this designation is a priority ask from Hanoi, although it hasn't materially slowed growth in exports to the US.

Denial of Export Privileges: Firearms to Mexico & Ecuador; Rebreathers to Libya

One of the two Florida men arrested this Spring in a scheme to launder funds for the fugitive "Gas King of Ukraine," through a Florida metals service center has entered a guilty plea. Sergey Karpushkin, a Belarusian citizen from Miami, was indicted and arrested for engaging in a $150 million scheme to violate U.S. sanctions against Russian oligarch Sergey Kurchenko and his two companies. Karpushkins plea acknowledged violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA"), 50 U.S.C. § 1705; and other money laundering charges.

The US Export-Import Bank Board of Directors has approved the first-ever direct loan to support domestic manufacturing. The $4.7 million to Aquatech, a small, minority-owned business based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, is the first transaction authorized under ExIm’s Make More in America Initiative.

President Biden has tapped Erik Woodhouse as his nominee to head the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination. Mr. Woodhouse currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.

A group of Congressional Democrats are raising questions with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo over her department’s failure to release data on its approvals of assault weapons exports. …