US BIS: 2021 Wassenaar Arrangement Implementation — HPC Threshold Revision and CCL Multi-Domain Updates

Mechanism

BIS implemented the December 2021 Wassenaar Arrangement Plenary decisions through a final rule published 88 FR 12108 on February 24, 2023. The rule revised 16 ECCNs and removed 1 ECCN (0A988) from the Commerce Control List:

Revised ECCNs: 1A613, 1C006, 2E003, 3A001, 3A002, 4A003, 4D001, 4E001, 5A003, 6A005, 6A008, 6D003, 7D003, 9A004, 9B001, 9E003.

The most commercially significant change was to ECCN 4A003 (digital computers and related equipment). Prior to this rule, the APP threshold for commodity-jurisdiction purposes was 29 WT; the Wassenaar Participating States agreed in December 2021 to raise this to 70 Weighted TeraFLOPS, reflecting the rapid commoditisation of high-performance computing hardware. The delayed effective date for ECCNs 4A003 and 4D001 (March 14, 2023, vs February 24, 2023 for all other provisions) provided a brief compliance transition window.

Other notable revisions include:

• 3A001 / 3A002: Electronic components — updated WA-agreed parameters for semiconductor

devices and electronic assemblies.

• 6A005 / 6A008: Laser and optical sensors — revised performance thresholds.
• 9A004 / 9B001 / 9E003: Aerospace and propulsion — adjustments to spacecraft, propulsion

equipment, and technology controls.

• License Exception APP (15 CFR Part 740): Revised thresholds track the new 70 WT baseline;

exports to lower-risk (Country Group B) destinations that cleared under the old 29 WT ceiling but fall below 70 WT are now decontrolled.

• License Exception STA: Updated Significant Item (SI) licence requirements throughout the

EAR to reflect new control parameters.

The overall direction is slightly liberalising for Wassenaar partners on HPC (the threshold rise allows more computing hardware to flow without an individual licence to allied destinations) while maintaining or tightening controls on specific dual-use items where the 2021 Plenary agreed stricter parameters.

Downstream implications

• HPC exporters (server OEMs, GPU makers supplying allied-country hyperscalers) benefit from

reduced licence burden at the 29–70 WT range for Country Group B destinations.

• Controls on 3A001 (semiconductors) and 6A005 (lasers) may marginally affect exports to

non-Wassenaar countries, though the rule is not targeted at any single adversary.

• The 4A003 threshold increase predates the October 2023 advanced-AI chip controls

(BIS Oct 2023 rule targeting A100/H100-class devices); the two rules operate at different layers — this one sets the baseline multilateral threshold, while the Oct 2023 rule adds unilateral controls on specific performance bands.

• Aerospace controls in 9A004/9B001 are relevant to dual-use satellite and propulsion

supply chains.

Open questions

• How the 70 WT threshold interacts with the subsequent BIS AI-chip rules (Oct 2023, Aug 2024)

which introduced separate, lower thresholds for advanced-AI compute exports to China and other concern countries.

• Whether the December 2022 Wassenaar Plenary produced further CCL revisions in the same

domains (see 2023-10-18-us-bis-wassenaar-2022-aero-turbine for the aero component).