Bureau of Industry and Security – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On October 13, 2022, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published the interim final rule Implementation of Additional Export Controls: Certain Advanced Computing and Semiconductor Manufacturing Items; Supercomputer and Semiconductor End Use; Entity List Modification. This document extends the deadline for written comments to January 31, 2023. This extension is being made to allow for commenters to have additional time to review the interim final rule and to benefit from the significant amount of public outreach that BIS is conducting on the rule in preparing their comments.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 31 persons to the Unverified List (UVL). The 31 persons are added to the UVL on the basis that BIS was unable to verify their bona fides because an end-use check could not be completed satisfactorily for reasons outside the U.S. Government's control. All 31 persons are being added under the destination of the People's Republic of China (China). This rule also removes nine persons, all under the destination of China, from the UVL because BIS was able to verify their bona fides. With this final rule, BIS also clarifies the activities and criteria that may lead to the addition of an entity to the Entity List, including a sustained lack of cooperation by the host government (e.g., the government of the country in which an end-use check is to be conducted) that effectively prevents BIS from determining compliance with the EAR.

In response to the Russian Federation's (Russia's) further invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the illegal and unjustifiable basis of which has been furthered by its illegal purported annexation of regions of Ukraine, the Department of Commerce is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 57 entities under 57 entries to the Entity List. These entities have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. Of these 57 entities, 56 will be listed on the Entity List under the destination of Russia and one will be listed under the destination of the Crimea Region of Ukraine.

In response to the Russian Federation's (Russia's) ongoing aggression against Ukraine, the Department of Commerce is expanding the existing sanctions against Russia and Belarus by imposing new export controls, including expanding the scope of the Russian industry sector sanctions to add lower-level items potentially useful for Russia's chemical and biological weapons production capabilities and items needed for advanced production and development capabilities to enable advanced manufacturing across a number of industries. This rule also adds Belarus to the scope of industry sector sanctions that currently apply solely to Russia. With respect to end users, this rule expands the `military end user' and `military-intelligence end user' controls and applies the Russian/Belarusian-Military End User Foreign Direct Product (FDP) rule to ten existing entries for six existing entities that have continued to supply Russian entities on the Entity List or are under sanction since Russia's further invasion of Ukraine. Labeling these six entities as Russian `military end users' and applying the Russia/Belarus-Military End User FDP rule to them will degrade Russia's war efforts in Ukraine, as these entities produce items needed by the Russian and Belarussian military and industrial sectors. Correspondingly, this rule clarifies requirements related to Burma, Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, and Venezuela). Finally, this rule refines existing controls on Russia and Belarus by adding additional dollar value exclusion thresholds for `luxury goods;' and makes twelve corrections and clarifications to existing controls on Russia and Belarus. The Department of Commerce is taking these actions to clarify and enhance the effectiveness of U.S. controls and to better align its controls on both Russia and Belarus with those implemented by U.S. allies.

In this interim final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to authorize the release of specified items subject to the EAR without a license when that release occurs in the context of a ``standards- related activity,'' as defined in this rule. BIS is revising the terms used in the EAR to describe the actions permissible under the authorization rather than defining the organizations to which it applies. The scope of the authorization is revised to include certain ``technology'' as well as ``software'' and applies to all entities listed on BIS's Entity List. The uncertainty of not knowing whether other entities listed on the Entity List are participants in standards organizations and whether a BIS license is required to release low- level technology for legitimate standards activities has caused U.S. companies to limit their participation in standards-related activities in areas that are critical to U.S. national security. This authorization only overcomes licensing requirements imposed as a result of an entity's inclusion on the Entity List; other EAR licensing requirements, including additional end-use or end-user based licensing requirements may continue to apply. This final rule does not change the assessment of whether ``technology'' or ``software'' is subject to the EAR. BIS is making these revisions to ensure that export controls and associated compliance concerns as they relate to the Entity List do not impede the leadership and participation of U.S. companies in national and international standards-related activities