A U.S. semiconductor company and a Canadian electronics component manufacturer are locked in a legal battle that could have implications for the export compliance responsibilities of sellers and buyers, particularly within the chip industry.

Australia last week unveiled proposed reforms to its export control requirements and penalties as it works to harmonize its defense trade regulations with the U.S. The proposals, which include a one-week public comment period, would establish an “export license-free environment” for certain defense and technology trade with the U.S. and the U.K. and criminalize certain violations of Australian export control requirements. The proposals specifically include a new “national exemption” from certain export permit requirements for parties from the U.S. and the U.K., Australia said.

The U.S. should have placed export controls on a broader range of semiconductors, including legacy chips, as part of its efforts over the last year to restrict sales of advanced semiconductors to China, said Nazak Nikakhtar, a former acting Bureau of Industry and Security undersecretary. She said a lack of legacy chip controls is allowing China to dominate that sector of the industry and grab market share away from companies in the U.S. and its allies, including South Korea and Taiwan.

The Canadian government should release more sanctions guidance to lower the business uncertainty that has spiked since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year and the implementation of Canada’s new deemed ownership rules in June, lawyers said at a conference this week. A Canadian official said the government is working on guidance but stressed that the wide scope of the country’s sanctions laws, particularly against Russia, is unlikely to change.

The U.K. added 29 entries to the Russia sanctions regime Nov. 8, targeting Russian gold refiners and producers as well as international networks supporting the country's gold, oil, finance and defense sectors. The country's National Crime Agency also issued a new alert to make financial institutions aware of how Russia is using gold to evade sanctions.

The U.S., Canada and other nations can make sanctions screening efforts by banks and other financial institutions more efficient by addressing certain privacy laws, said Stephen Alsace, global head of economic sanctions for the Royal Bank of Canada. If all financial institutions were able to share more information about certain transactions, it could reduce redundancies during the sanctions compliance process and allow payments to be screened and processed faster, Alsace said.

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The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a temporary denial order on Nov. 7 against seven people and three companies for orchestrating a scheme to illegally export millions of dollars worth of export-controlled dual-use electronics to Russia. BIS said the U.S.-origin items were bought by Russian procurement agents and transshipped through other countries before being delivered to Russian companies with ties to the country’s military.

Petitioning to be delisted from a sanctions regime has become increasingly difficult and often lacks transparency, both in the U.S. and Canada, trade lawyers from both countries said this week. Several lawyers, including a former high-ranking senior U.S. sanctions official, said designated people often aren’t given an adequate explanation for why they were sanctioned and therefore aren’t able to fairly challenge the basis for their designation.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is planning to soon issue a rule that will offer clarifications and corrections to its recently updated export controls on advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment, said Thea Kendler, the agency’s assistant secretary for export administration (see 2310170055).