Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2667 actions· ✨ 89 recent

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.

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).

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule, in conjunction with a companion NRC rulemaking, transferring export licensing authority for non-nuclear deuterium from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to the Commerce Department under the Export Administration Regulations. Deuterium and deuterium compounds (including heavy water) with a deuterium-to-hydrogen atom ratio exceeding 1:5000 that are intended for non-nuclear end use are added to ECCN 1C298 and made subject to Nuclear Proliferation (NP) controls on the Commerce Country Chart. Exports to NP column 2–controlled destinations require a BIS licence; deuterium for actual nuclear-reactor end use remains under NRC jurisdiction.

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 (BIS) added four Burma-based entities to the Entity List effective July 6, 2021 under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), citing their support for the Myanmar State Administration Council (SAC) military that seized power on February 1, 2021. The listing covers King Royal Technologies Co., Ltd. (satellite communications services for the Burmese military) and three Wanbao-affiliated copper mining companies (Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd., Myanmar Yang Tse Copper Ltd., and Wanbao Mining Ltd.) that maintain revenue-sharing arrangements with Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL), a military conglomerate that funds Burma's Ministry of Defence. All four entities face a presumption-of-denial license policy with no exceptions permitted for any items subject to the EAR.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security added five Xinjiang-based entities to the Entity List on June 24, 2021, citing their roles in human rights violations and forced labor against Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Muslim minority populations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The five entities — four major polysilicon and silicon producers plus the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) paramilitary body — are subject to a presumption-of- denial licensing policy for most items. Together the four polysilicon companies supplied a significant fraction of global polysilicon feedstock used in solar panel manufacturing.

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.).

The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added seven Chinese supercomputing entities to the Entity List, imposing a license requirement covering all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) with a presumption of denial. The entities were designated for procuring and building supercomputers used by China's military actors, supporting China's military modernization, and aiding the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and hypersonic weapons programs. This was the Biden administration's first Entity List action targeting China's supercomputing sector.

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.

BIS amended the Commerce Control List (CCL) under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement decisions agreed at the December 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement Plenary meeting, revising 22 ECCNs across nine CCL categories — including nuclear and conventional arms-related items, materials, manufacturing equipment, semiconductors, laser/sensor systems, and aerospace. The rule harmonises US controls with those of Wassenaar Participating States, maintaining competitive parity among allied exporters while preserving national-security licensing for non-partner destinations. Separately, the rule eliminated email notification and self-classification reporting obligations for most mass-market encryption products and publicly available encryption source code, reducing associated compliance submissions by an estimated 60–80%.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added four entities to the Entity List effective March 8, 2021 as the first BIS Export Administration Regulations (EAR) response to the February 1, 2021 Burmese military coup. The four listed entities are Burma's Ministry of Defence (MoD), Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), and Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) — the two ministries responsible for the coup and the two military-owned commercial conglomerates that generate revenue for the Ministry of Defence. All four entities face a presumption-of-denial license review policy covering all items subject to the EAR, with no license exceptions available.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the State Department's December 14, 2020 rescission of Sudan's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT). The rule removes Sudan from Country Group E:1 (State Sponsors of Terrorism), which had imposed a blanket denial of license exceptions and a policy of denial for most dual-use exports. Following this change, Sudan exporters may now utilise applicable EAR license exceptions and benefit from a more permissive licensing review policy, though Sudan retains arms-embargo status under Country Group D:5.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. (CNOOC) to the Entity List on the basis of its involvement in the PRC's unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea and efforts to intimidate and coerce other South China Sea coastal states. In the same rule, Beijing Skyrizon Aviation Industry Investment Co., Ltd. was added to the Military End-User (MEU) List, while two Russian entities (Vsmpo-Avisma and Molot Oruzhie) were removed from the MEU List as duplicate entries. The rule took effect January 14, 2021, one day before publication in the Federal Register.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) §742.5 to change the license review policy for a subset of MTCR Category I unmanned aerial systems (UAS). UAS that meet the Category I thresholds (payload ≥500 kg, range ≥300 km) but have a maximum true airspeed below 800 km/h will now be reviewed on a case-by-case basis under the more permissive MTCR Category II review policy, rather than under the strict Category I presumption-of-denial. The rule implements the UAS export policy announced by President Trump on 24 July 2020, and is intended to improve the commercial viability of US-made heavy subsonic UAS exports to allied customers while preserving oversight via per-licence review.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) removed three persons from the Unverified List (UVL) effective January 11, 2021 after completing successful end-use checks that verified their bona fides under §744.15(c)(2) of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The three removed parties are DMA Logistics GmbH (Germany), Halm Elektronik GmbH (Germany), and Integrated Production and Test Engineering / IPTE (Mexico). Removal restores eligibility for EAR license exceptions and eliminates the requirement for US exporters to obtain a signed UVL Statement before shipping items subject to the EAR to these parties.

BIS amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) Commerce Control List to clarify the scope of ECCN 1C991 (vaccines, immunotoxins, and related medical products containing or derived from controlled biological agents) consistent with release and exclusion notes adopted at the June 2019 Australia Group (AG) Plenary Meeting. The rule adds clarifying language specifying which vaccines and medical products fall inside versus outside the ECCN 1C991 control perimeter, ensuring that routine vaccines produced by standard manufacturing methods are properly excluded. The changes align US controls with the Australia Group Common Control Lists without introducing new country-specific restrictions or license requirements.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) extended for one year the temporary unilateral export control on software classified as ECCN 0D521 — "software specially designed for training a Deep Convolutional Neural Network to automate the analysis of geospatial imagery and point clouds" — adding a second year of control through January 6, 2022. The extension was required because COVID-19 prevented the Wassenaar Arrangement from formally convening in 2020 to consider the US multilateral control proposal submitted that year. Only License Exception GOV (§ 740.11(b)(2)(ii)) is available; all other exports require a specific licence from BIS.