Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2668 actions· ✨ 89 recent

BIS amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to clarify controls on radiation hardened integrated circuits (rad-hard ICs) and equipment — including computer and telecommunications devices — that incorporate them. The rule affirms the availability of License Exception GOV for rad-hard ICs acquired pursuant to an official written request or directive from the Department of Defense or Department of Energy. It also expands License Exception GOV to cover microelectronics exports, reexports, and in-country transfers made under U.S. Government contracts that explicitly provide for such transactions, removing export-control obstacles for official government business. Published at 89 FR 18353–59 (FR Doc 2024-05267), effective on publication date.

Bureau of Industry and Security final rule (89 FR 14403, Doc 2024-03674) adding two entities under seven entries to the Entity List, effective February 27, 2024. Sandvine Incorporated, a Canadian deep packet inspection vendor, is listed across six destinations (Canada, India, Japan, Malaysia, Sweden, UAE) because it supplies DPI technology to the Government of Egypt where it is used for mass web-monitoring and censorship. Chengdu Beizhan Electronics Co., Ltd. is listed under China for acquiring and attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items on behalf of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), a PLA-affiliated institution already on the Entity List. All items subject to the EAR require a license with a presumption-of-denial review policy for both entities. The rule also revises entries for two existing Chinese entities and removes one UAE entry.

BIS published a two-part final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for cameras, systems, and related components, effective March 8, 2024. Part one creates new ECCN 6A293 controlling ultra-high-speed cameras (minimum exposure time ≤1 microsecond AND throughput ≥13.43 Giga-pixels per second at 205,000 fps) for nuclear nonproliferation (NP) reasons with no License Exception STA eligibility, capturing instruments used in weapons-test diagnostics not previously covered by 6A003 or 6A203. Part two lifts military-end-user (MEU) restrictions on ECCNs 0A504, 6A002, 6A003, 6A993.a, and 8A002.d for Country Group A:1 destinations (32 closest US allies including EU member states, Canada, Japan, Australia, UK, and South Korea), aligning controls with commercial availability and established allied strategic relationships.

On 8 December 2023 the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a direct final rule (88 FR 85479; FR Doc 2023-26532) making two export-liberalisation amendments to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). First, BIS removes Chemical and Biological Weapons (CB) proliferation column controls from the Commerce Country Chart for exports of certain pathogens and toxins (ECCNs 1C351, 1C353, and 1C354) when destined to Australia Group (AG) member countries, on the basis that AG members operate equivalent domestic CBW-export controls. Second, the rule revises the Crime Control and Detection (CC) column entries for Austria, Finland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland, reflecting the updated US assessment of those countries' law-enforcement export-control standards. Both changes are effective on publication and reduce US export-licensing burdens for allied-country destinations without altering controls for non-allied markets.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement changes to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Annex agreed at Technical Experts Meetings in 2018, 2019, and 2021, revising six ECCNs (1C111, 2A101, 2B119, 6A107, 9A101, and 9E515). The rule simultaneously expands license exception eligibility for MT-controlled items — adding one new authorization and broadening four existing exceptions — for exports to allies and partners not in Country Groups D:4 or D:5. BIS estimates the changes will reduce MT-related license applications by approximately 400 per year, easing compliance burden on defence and aerospace exporters dealing with allied governments.

BIS implements December 2022 Wassenaar Arrangement plenary decisions by amending Commerce Control List ECCNs 9A001, 9A003, 9E001, 9E002, and 9E003 via an interim final rule effective October 18, 2023. The rule moves technology for developing supersonic-capable aero gas turbine engine components from ECCN 9E001 to a new paragraph 9E003.k, preserving development-phase controls even after an engine obtains civil certification. BIS simultaneously extends to supersonic engines the civil-certification release from 9A001 to 9A991 already available for subsonic engines, and opens a 45-day public comment period (deadline December 4, 2023) on whether to restrict Strategic Trade Authorization eligibility for ECCN 9E003.k for certain Country Group A:5 partner-country destinations.

BIS published a final rule on August 18, 2023, amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement decisions reached at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) plenary meetings in Nur-Sultan (June 2019) and Warsaw (June 2022). The rule revises five existing Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) on the Commerce Control List (CCL) to align with multilateral commitments made by NSG participating governments. Changes include decontrolling water-hydrogen sulfide exchange tray columns from ECCN 1B22, clarifying isotope purification scope in ECCN 1B231, and updating mass-unit terminology in ECCN 3A233. The rule takes effect immediately upon publication.

President Biden signed Executive Order 14105 on 9 August 2023, "Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern", establishing the first dedicated US outbound-investment screening regime. The EO directs Treasury to prohibit or require notification of US investments in Chinese (and Hong Kong, Macau) entities engaged in three categories of technology: (1) semiconductors and microelectronics, (2) quantum information technologies, (3) artificial intelligence systems. After a public-comment process, Treasury issued the final rule (31 CFR Part 850) on 28 October 2024, effective 2 January 2025.

Bureau of Industry and Security final rule (88 FR 46071, Doc 2023-15343) adding four entities to the Entity List effective July 18, 2023. Intellexa S.A. (Greece) and Intellexa Limited (Ireland) — the corporate architecture behind the "Predator" commercial spyware platform — and Cytrox Holdings Zrt. (Hungary) and Cytrox AD (North Macedonia) — the developer of the underlying spyware technology — were listed for "trafficking in cyber exploits used to gain access to information systems, thereby threatening the privacy and security of individuals and organizations worldwide." All items subject to the EAR require a license with a presumption-of-denial review policy for all four entities, effectively cutting off access to US-origin hardware, software, and technology.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule on 19 May 2023 strengthening existing Export Administration Regulations (EAR) sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The rule expands the Foreign Direct Product (FDP) rule — which applies EAR jurisdiction to foreign-made items produced with US technology or equipment — to cover the temporarily occupied Crimea region of Ukraine. It also revises controls targeting Iran's supply of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia, closing loopholes identified in prior rounds of Russia-Ukraine-related export-control rulemaking.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 37 entities under 38 entries to the Entity List, effective March 2, 2023, spanning six destinations: China (28), Pakistan (4), Burma (3), Russia (1), Belarus (1), and Taiwan (1). The China tranche — the largest — targets entities supporting the People's Liberation Army's military modernization, including BGI Research and Forensic Genomics International (genomic surveillance/data risk), Inspur Group Co. Ltd. (cloud servers supplied to Chinese military), and Loongson Technology (domestic CPU developer). Three Burmese entities, including the Ministry of Transport and Communications, are designated for providing surveillance equipment enabling the military junta's tracking and targeting of civilians. Pakistani entities Abdul Razaq Asim, Add-On Technology, and Dynamic Engineers are added for contributing to Pakistan's ballistic missile programs; Russian DMT Electronics and Belarusian DMT Trading LLC for export-control evasion. All listed entities are subject to a license requirement for all items subject to the EAR, with the review policy being presumption of denial for the majority of Chinese entries.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 76 Russian entities to the Entity List effective February 24, 2023, spanning three rationale categories: (1) biometric surveillance technology enabling Russian filtration operations in occupied Ukraine; (2) illicit acquisition of U.S.-origin controlled items; and (3) the Russian military-industrial complex encompassing missiles, aviation, shipbuilding, semiconductors, telecom, and defense electronics. All 76 entities are subject to a license requirement for all EAR-subject items with a presumption of denial; 66 entities receive footnote-3 designation as Russian military end-users, subjecting them to the Russia/Belarus Military End-User Foreign Direct Product Rule under §734.9(g). Four existing Entity List entries were simultaneously revised with additional aliases and tightened to a policy of denial. Notable designations include KAMAZ, the Skolkovo Foundation, Skoltech, Ilyushin Aviation Complex, and the State Missile Center Named After Akademika V.P. Makeyev.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 10 entities under 13 destination entries to the Entity List, effective February 24, 2023. The additions span three groups: (1) five Chinese entities operating in the commercial satellite and dual-use space sector — most notably Spacety Co., Ltd. and China HEAD Aerospace Technology Co., both suspected of supplying satellite imagery and space technology in support of the Russian military in Ukraine; (2) two Canadian procurement intermediaries (CPUNTO Inc. and Electronic Network Inc.) facilitating illicit acquisition of US-origin controlled items; and (3) three Russian defense-industrial procurement companies supplying the Russian military. All listed entities are subject to a license requirement for all EAR-subject items with a policy of denial, except EAR99 food and medicine which receive case-by-case review.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) established a new Iran Foreign Direct Product (FDP) rule and created Supplement No. 7 to Part 746 of the EAR, effective 24 February 2023, to address Iran's supply of UAVs to Russia for use against Ukraine. The rule adds twelve HTS-6 codes covering UAV-relevant components — aircraft engines, processors, capacitors, memories, and radio navigation equipment — many of which are EAR99 items outside existing ECCNs, requiring a new licence for exports and reexports to Iran. Simultaneously, the rule expands the existing Russia/Belarus FDP rule to cover these same items, closing a gap where foreign-produced items derived from US technology could transit to Russia via Iran without triggering EAR licence requirements.

On 24 February 2023, the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the US Department of State announced a package of sanctions designations under the executive order blocking property of persons engaged in harmful foreign activities of the Russian government (E.O. 14024). The State Department describes designating over 60 individuals and entities, including Russian officials and entities in Russia's advanced-technology sector, three enterprises that develop and operate Russia's nuclear weapons, and three civil nuclear entities within the Rosatom structure. The Treasury Department announced parallel designations, including four entities in the metals and mining sector.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) removed nine Russian persons from the Unverified List (UVL) and simultaneously added them to the Entity List after the Russian government failed to facilitate end-use checks for more than 60 days — the first application of BIS's October 2022 escalation policy. All nine entities are subject to a license requirement covering all items subject to the EAR, with a policy of denial and no license exceptions available. The list spans electronics traders, state maritime infrastructure, defense R&D, microelectronics, and industrial equipment manufacturers.

On 19 October 2022, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Russian national Yury Yuryevich Orekhov, resident in Dubai, UAE, under Executive Order 14024 for operating a network that procured military and sensitive dual-use technology from Western suppliers for Russian end-users. Two entities tied to Orekhov were designated alongside him: NDA Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH, based in Hamburg, Germany, and Opus Energy Trading LLC, based in Dubai, UAE. The designation blocks all US property and interests of the designated persons and generally prohibits US persons from transacting with them.

The Bureau of Industry and Security expanded EAR sanctions against Russia and Belarus effective 15 September 2022, adding new export-control categories covering quantum computing equipment and related technology (new licensing requirements under a near-total policy of denial), discrete chemicals and biologics including fentanyl precursors and CBW-related production equipment (new Supplement No. 6 to Part 746), and 57 EAR99 industrial items added to the industry-sector sanctions list (Supplement No. 4). Six entities were concurrently designated as Russian Military End Users (MEU), and MEU/MIEU licensing restrictions were extended worldwide (previously limited to six countries). The rule also extended the Foreign Direct Product Rule to additional categories of foreign-made items.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule (IFR, 87 FR 55241, FR Doc. 2022-19415) amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to authorize the release of specified items to all entities on the Entity List without a licence when such release occurs in the context of a "standards-related activity." The IFR expanded a narrower June 2020 predecessor that had applied only to Huawei and its affiliates; this 2022 rule extended equivalent authorization to the full Entity List. Authorized items include EAR99 technology and software, items controlled solely for anti-terrorism (AT) reasons, and certain cryptographic technology (ECCNs 5D002 and 5E002) used in standards development. The rule amended 15 CFR §§ 734.10, 744.11, 744.16, and Part 772 and was superseded by a broader 2024 IFR that recasted the carve-out as an activity-based exclusion from EAR jurisdiction entirely.

OFAC reissued the Cyber-Related Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR Part 578) in their entirety on 6 September 2022, replacing the abbreviated placeholder framework first published on 31 December 2015. The reissuance implements Executive Order 13694 (1 April 2015, blocking property of persons engaging in significant malicious cyber-enabled activities) and Executive Order 13757 (28 December 2016, expanding that authority to include election interference). The full-form regulations add interpretive definitions, general licences, and civil-penalties provisions — providing compliance clarity for US financial institutions and technology companies without expanding the underlying sanctions perimeter.

The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added seven Chinese entities — under seven entries — to the Entity List, effective August 24, 2022, for acquiring or attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of China's military modernization efforts. The entities span China's state-owned aerospace, space-technology, electronics, and control-systems research institutes. All seven entries carry a license requirement covering all items subject to the EAR, with a presumption-of-denial review policy.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Commerce Control List (CCL) under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement four emerging and foundational technology decisions agreed at the December 2021 Wassenaar Arrangement Plenary meeting, pursuant to ECRA Section 1758. The rule adds new export controls on ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor substrates (gallium oxide Ga₂O₃ and diamond), ECAD software for Gate-All- Around Field-Effect Transistor (GAAFET) integrated circuit development, and Pressure Gain Combustion (PGC) technology for advanced gas turbine engines. Controls require a licence for items destined to countries listed in the NS:1 and AT:1 columns of the Commerce Country Chart; ECAD software controls (ECCN 3D006) have a delayed compliance date of October 14, 2022.

The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 36 entities under 41 entries to the Entity List, effective June 28, 2022. The entities — located across China, Lithuania, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, the UAE, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam — were designated for acting contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests. Key grounds include support for China's military modernization and AI-enabled surveillance programs, Pakistan-based proliferation concerns, and supply-chain facilitation for Russia amid the Ukraine invasion. The rule also revised eleven existing entries (Belarus, China, Russia, Slovakia) and corrected one entry (Pakistan).

BIS finalized changes to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) governing controls on cybersecurity items — primarily intrusion software, command-and-control platforms, and surveillance tools capable of disrupting or monitoring information systems without authorization. The final rule, effective May 26 2022, revises License Exception ACE (Authorized Cybersecurity Exports) originally established by an October 2021 interim rule and narrows end-user carve-outs for government end users in Country Group D:5 and A:6 destinations. Exports of affected ECCNs (4A005, 4D001, 4D004, 4E001, 5A001.j, 5B001, 5D001, 5E001) to Country Groups E:1 and E:2 remain prohibited; D:1 through D:5 government-end-user transactions require a license.

BIS amended the Export Administration Regulations to add Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland to the list of countries excluded from certain EAR license requirements that apply to items destined for Russia or Belarus. The exclusion recognizes that these four countries have implemented substantially similar export-control regimes aligned with US restrictions, and applies specifically to the Foreign Direct Product (FDP) rule under EAR Part 734.9. The change reduces the licensing burden for entities in these partner countries when producing or handling items using US-origin technology or equipment in transactions with Russia/Belarus, consistent with the broader allied coordination approach adopted after February 2022.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 120 entities under 120 entries to the Entity List, effective 1 April 2022 and published in the Federal Register on 7 April 2022. All 120 entities — located in Russia and Belarus — were determined to be acting contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests in the context of Russia's further invasion of Ukraine beginning 24 February 2022. The rule imposes a presumption-of-denial policy for all EAR-subject items and prohibits all license exceptions for exports, reexports, or in-country transfers to the listed parties. Ninety-five of the 120 entities are additionally designated under Footnote 3 of the Entity List as military end users, triggering the Russian/Belarusian Military End User foreign-produced direct product rule (MEU FDP Rule), extending US extraterritorial reach to non-US items made with US-origin technology.

Effective 2 March 2022, the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) extended to Belarus the same sweeping EAR sanctions imposed on Russia following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The rule adds Commerce Control List (CCL)-based license requirements for Belarus with a policy of denial across virtually all categories, extends both the Russia Foreign Direct Product (FDP) rule and the Russia Military End User (MEU) FDP rule to cover Belarus and Belarusian military end users, and aligns Belarus with Russia's license review policy. The action was triggered by Belarus's active enablement of the Russian military operation from its territory.

On 1 March 2022, OFAC published an interim final rule adding the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations (RuHSR) at 31 CFR Part 587, codifying into Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations all prohibitions previously imposed by Executive Order 14024 of 15 April 2021. The regulations were issued in abbreviated form to provide immediate public guidance, with OFAC indicating an intent to supplement them with additional definitions, general licenses, and interpretive guidance. All transactions prohibited under EO 14024 — including prior sectoral determinations and directives targeting Russia's financial services sector, sovereign debt markets, and key state institutions — are formally prohibited under Part 587, giving domestic courts and compliance teams a stable regulatory anchor.

Effective 24 February 2022 — the date of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine — the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an interim final rule (87 FR 12226, FR Doc 2022-04300) adding sweeping new export license requirements under a new § 746.8 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The rule requires a licence for any item in CCL Categories 3–9 (electronics, computers, telecommunications, sensors, lasers, navigation/avionics, marine, aerospace, propulsion) exported, reexported, or transferred to Russia, with a review policy of denial. Two new Russia-specific Foreign Direct Product (FDP) rules extend US jurisdiction to foreign-manufactured goods: the Russia FDP Rule (§ 734.9(f)) covers all foreign-made items using US technology/equipment destined for Russia, and the Russia-MEU FDP Rule (§ 734.9(g)) covers items destined to 47 designated military-end-user (MEU) entities with no licence exceptions available. All three restrictions carry a presumption of denial, making this the most sweeping peacetime expansion of the EAR since its modern codification.

Executive Order 14065, signed 21 February 2022, prohibits new investment by US persons in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic (DNR/LNR) regions of Ukraine, bans the importation into the United States of any goods, services or technology from those Covered Regions, and bans exports, reexports, sales or supply to them by or from US persons. It also prohibits US-person approval, financing, facilitation or guarantee of transactions by foreign persons that would be barred if done by a US person. It expands the national emergency first declared in EO 13660.

OFAC codified the Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Sanctions Regulations at 31 CFR Part 586, implementing Executive Order 13959 (November 12, 2020) as amended by Executive Order 14032 (June 3, 2021). The regulations prohibit US persons from purchasing or selling publicly traded securities of entities designated on OFAC's Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies (NS-CMIC) List, which identifies firms determined to support the People's Liberation Army or Chinese surveillance-technology programs. A divestment deadline of June 3, 2022 applied to entities named in the original EO 13959 annexes; future additions carry a one-year divestment window from the date of designation.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) on 8 February 2022 to add 33 persons — all based in China — to the Unverified List (UVL) under EAR §744.15(c), on the basis that BIS could not satisfactorily complete end-use checks for these entities for reasons outside US Government control. Placement on the UVL bars exporters from using any EAR license exception when shipping controlled items to listed parties and requires exporters to obtain a certified UVL Statement from the entity or secure a BIS export licence. Sectors represented include semiconductor manufacturing equipment, optoelectronics, UAVs, specialty chemicals, and biotechnology.

Effective 3 February 2022, the Bureau of Industry and Security published a final rule (87 FR 6231, FR Doc 2022-02302) consolidating all existing Foreign Direct Product (FDP) rules from scattered locations in EAR Parts 736 and 744 into a single new section, 15 CFR §734.9, under Part 734 (Scope of the EAR). The rule made no substantive changes to existing controls — it reorganised four pre-existing FDP rules (National Security, 9x515, 600 Series, and Entity List) into a clean §734.9(b)–(e) architecture, clarified the definition of "major component" at §734.9(a), and corrected a drafting ambiguity that had obscured the U.S.-origin technology trigger for three of the four rules. The newly created §734.9 structure became the vehicle used by BIS to add the Russia/Belarus FDP rule (§734.9(f)) just 21 days later, on 24 February 2022.

BIS published an interim rule on January 12, 2022 delaying the effective date of its October 21, 2021 cybersecurity items interim final rule by 45 days, from January 19, 2022 to March 7, 2022. The underlying October 2021 rule establishes new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) for cybersecurity items — including intrusion software, command-and-control platforms, and surveillance tools — and introduces License Exception ACE (Authorized Cybersecurity Exports) for national security and anti-terrorism purposes. The delay was granted after twelve public comments highlighted significant compliance challenges, with BIS acknowledging the need for additional time for industry to update procedures and for BIS to issue supplemental guidance before the controls took effect.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 37 entities under 40 entries to the Entity List, effective December 17, 2021. The additions span three distinct threat rationales: (1) support for Chinese military modernization across semiconductors, submarine cables, armored vehicles, and defense electronics; (2) the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and 11 affiliated institutes pursuing biotechnology processes for military end uses, including purported brain-control weaponry under EAR §744.11(b); and (3) a cross-border Iran sanctions-evasion network operating across China, Georgia, Malaysia, and Turkey that diverted US-origin items to Iran's defense industries and advanced conventional weapons programs. All 40 entries carry a presumption-of-denial licensing policy for all items subject to the EAR, with no license exceptions available.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) effective November 26, 2021, by adding 28 entries to the Entity List across China (12), Japan (1), Pakistan (13 including 2 individuals), Singapore (1), and Taiwan (1). Designations span three distinct threat clusters: (1) eight Chinese entities supporting military applications of quantum computing, including QuantumCTek Co. and the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale; (2) approximately twelve Pakistani procurement entities and three Chinese suppliers facilitating Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities and ballistic missile program; and (3) the Corad Technology network across China, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan that sold Western technology to Iran's military/space programs and North Korean front companies. Additionally, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology was added to the Military End-User (MEU) List for producing military products. All Entity List entries carry presumption-of-denial licensing policy with no exceptions available.

On November 4, 2021, BIS added four entities to the Entity List under a policy of denial: NSO Group and Candiru (Israel), Positive Technologies (Russia), and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE (Singapore). NSO Group and Candiru were designated for supplying commercial spyware to foreign governments used to maliciously surveil government officials, journalists, activists, and academics; Positive Technologies and CSIC for trafficking cyber tools enabling unauthorized access to information systems. All four entities now require BIS licenses for any export, re-export, or in-country transfer of EAR-controlled items, with a presumption of denial.

BIS published an interim final rule on October 21, 2021 establishing new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs 4A005, 4D004, 4E001.c, and 5A001.j) for intrusion software systems, command-and-control platforms, and IP network surveillance tools, implementing the Wassenaar Arrangement 2017 cybersecurity decisions into the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The rule simultaneously created License Exception ACE (Authorized Cybersecurity Exports), codified at § 740.22, to authorize exports to most destinations while imposing licence requirements — or outright prohibitions — for sales to Country Groups E:1/E:2 governments and certain D-group government end-users. Carve-outs for vulnerability disclosure and cyber-incident-response activities were included to protect legitimate security research. The effective date was subsequently delayed from January 19, 2022 to March 7, 2022 by a separate interim rule (FR 2022-00448), and the rule was finalized with revisions on May 26, 2022 (FR 2022-11282).

BIS amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the decision adopted at the Australia Group (AG) Virtual Implementation Meeting of May 2021, creating new ECCN 2D352 to control software designed for nucleic acid assemblers and synthesizers (ECCN 2B352.j) that is capable of designing and building functional genetic elements from digital sequence data. The rule also amends ECCN 2E001 to capture technology for the development of 2D352-controlled software. Exports to most non-allied destinations require a BIS licence under CB Column 2 and AT Column 1, and the classification of 2D352 software as a critical technology triggers mandatory CFIUS filing requirements for qualifying foreign investment.

Effective 5 October 2021, BIS published a final rule (86 FR 55268, FR Doc 2021-20649) making targeted editorial corrections and clarifications across eleven parts of the Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR Parts 732, 734, 736, 738, 740, 744, 748, 750, 770, 772, and 774). The errors corrected were inadvertent inconsistencies between different EAR parts where outdated or slightly divergent language had accumulated; the rule aligns those sections with the most-current language used elsewhere in the regulations. No substantive changes to licensing requirements, control lists, or end-use restrictions were made — this is a regulatory maintenance action.

The Bureau of Industry and Security amended the Export Administration Regulations by adding six Russian technology entities to the Entity List, all designated consistent with Executive Order 14024 on blocking property associated with harmful foreign activities of the Russian government. The designated entities operate in Russia's technology sector and have been determined to support Russian intelligence services, including notable cybersecurity firms and defense-innovation institutions. All items subject to the EAR require a BIS licence for export, reexport, or transfer to these parties, subject to a presumption-of-denial review policy with no licence exceptions available. The rule also corrects an existing FSB entry to reference updated General Licence No. 1B.

The Bureau of Industry and Security amended the Export Administration Regulations by adding 34 entities under 43 entries to the Entity List, effective July 12, 2021. The largest cluster — 14 Chinese entities — comprises suppliers of surveillance infrastructure enabling the Chinese government's human-rights abuses in Xinjiang, including video analytics firms, network equipment makers, and geolocation platforms deployed in the Uyghur Region. Six Russian individuals and entities were added for participation in military procurement networks acquiring US-origin electronics and components in violation of the EAR. Additional listings cover Iran sanctions evaders (Canada, Lebanon), a UAE-based nuclear-proliferation facilitator, and one entity elevated from the Unverified List to the Entity List under China. All items subject to the EAR require a BIS licence to export, re-export, or transfer in-country to the listed parties, with a presumption-of-denial review policy.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added eight entities to the Entity List — six based in Pakistan and two in the UAE — on grounds that they were acting contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests through involvement in proliferation to unsafeguarded nuclear activities. All EAR items destined for these entities require a license with a presumption of denial; no license exceptions are available. Separately, one China-based entity (Molecular Devices Shanghai Corporation) was removed from the Military End-User (MEU) List, and a second China MEU entry was renamed (Hutchison Optel Telecom Technology → Chongqing Optel Telecom Technology Co., Ltd.).

On June 1, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published FR Doc 2021-11585 (86 FR 29189) notifying the public that, effective May 26, 2021, BIS had assumed jurisdiction over certain firearms-related "technology" and "software" — specifically digital files (CAD/AMF/G-code) for 3D-printed firearms and CNC milling instruction files — under ECCNs 0D501 and 0E501 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The transfer was triggered by the Ninth Circuit's April 27, 2021 vacatur of a March 6, 2020 district-court preliminary injunction that had blocked the technology/software prong of the broader January 23, 2020 USML-to-CCL transfer rule. Internet posting of such files now requires a BIS license (review policy: denial), completing the full implementation of the January 2020 rule transferring USML Categories I–III (firearms, guns, and ammunition) from ITAR/State Department to EAR/Commerce jurisdiction.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) on April 9, 2021 to extend military-intelligence end-use and end-user controls to Burma (Myanmar) and to apply U.S.-person activity prohibitions to Burma's military-intelligence entities — specifically the Office of Chief of Military Security Affairs (OCMSA) and the Directorate of Signal. The rule also corrected technical errors introduced by BIS's January 15, 2021 interim final rule (FR Doc 2021-01879), which had originally established the military-intelligence end-use and end-user control framework covering China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela. The addition of Burma responded directly to the February 1, 2021 SAC military coup and the Burmese military's use of surveillance technology to oppress civil society, restrict internet access, and imprison protesters.

On 1 February 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a USD 30.4 million Defense Production Act Title III technology investment agreement with Lynas USA LLC, the U.S. subsidiary of Australia's Lynas Rare Earths Ltd, to establish domestic light rare earth element (LREE) separation capacity in Hondo, Texas. DOD framed the award as reducing reliance on China for rare earth oxides used in defense and commercial applications; the department projected that, if the Texas facility and Lynas's Malaysian operations are completed as planned, Lynas would supply roughly 25% of world rare earth oxide demand outside China.

On 20 January 2021, DOE's Office of Fossil Energy (now FECM), managed through the National Energy Technology Laboratory, announced Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0002404, making USD 28.35 million available for cost-shared R&D projects developing advanced midstream processing technologies for rare earth elements and critical minerals from coal and coal by-products, for industrial and manufacturing applications. Applications were due 1 March 2021, with up to eight Phase 1 awards anticipated; no specific recipients were named at announcement.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to remove Hong Kong as a separate, preferentially treated destination, effective December 23, 2020. Hong Kong is reclassified from Computer Tier 1 to Tier 3 and now subject to the same licence requirements, licence exceptions, and end-use restrictions that apply to mainland China. The rule implements Section 3 of Executive Order 13936 (July 14, 2020, "Hong Kong Normalization"), itself a response to China's imposition of the National Security Law on Hong Kong on June 30, 2020.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a correcting amendment to its September 11, 2020 Final Rule implementing Wassenaar Arrangement 2018 Plenary decisions, which had inadvertently introduced errors into six Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) on the Commerce Control List (CCL). The correction revises memory-technology terminology in ECCN 3A001 from enumerated chip types (EEPROMs, flash, MRAMs) to the consolidated term "non-volatile memories" (with an added Technical Note), and removes a redundant "Mega Samples Per Second" label from ECCN 3A002 subparagraphs. Errors in ECCNs 3A991, 5A002, 7A005, and 9E003 are also rectified. No new export controls are introduced; the correction restores the policy intent of the parent rule and resolves ambiguities that could affect classification determinations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended 15 CFR Part 742 to revise the license review policy for items controlled for National Security (NS) reasons destined to the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and Venezuela. The rule shifts the evaluation standard from assessing contributions to "military capabilities" to whether the export will make a "material contribution to the development, production, maintenance, repair, or operation of weapons systems" of those countries. Venezuela is added to the pre-existing China/Russia NS review framework, and BIS codifies a presumption of approval for civil end-uses and a presumption of denial for weapons-system contributions, supplemented by an illustrative list of review factors to guide license applications.