The Bureau of Industry and Security has drafted a prerule that could lead to new emerging technology export controls on “instruments for the automated chemical synthesis of peptides.” The proposed rule, which was mentioned in the agency’s spring regulatory agenda (see 2206270007), would seek public comments on the controls and help BIS determine whether the instruments could provide the U.S. or its adversaries a “qualitative military or intelligence advantage.” BIS sent the rule for interagency review Aug. 1.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week issued 18 frequently asked questions to provide guidance on its new open general license pilot program (see 2207190008 and 2207200005). The FAQs clarify the parameters of the two open general licenses, describe what kinds of transactions and activities they cover, detail who can use the licenses and more. In one FAQ, DDTC said it may issue more open general licenses “depending on its experience with, and observations made during, the pilot program.”

The U.S. is preparing several new restrictions on exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China to further impede Beijing’s semiconductor capabilities, according to multiple reports.

A U.S. aerospace company said it may have violated U.S. export controls when it shared a photograph of one of its controlled components. The company, Astra, which offers satellite space launch services, submitted an initial voluntary disclosure to the “appropriate regulatory authority” but hasn’t yet heard back, it said in a July SEC filing.

Several European research organizations and universities recently launched a group to share export compliance information and advocate on behalf of members. The ​​European Export Control Association for Research Organizations aims to “unite European Union research institutes, universities and their export control compliance officers with a view to address the specific character of export controls in a research context,” the group said on its website. Stephane Chardon, the European Commission’s chief export control official, said the group's formation is “welcome” news. “[I]t is essential to raise awareness -- and compliance -- within the research community considering their key role in sensitive technology transfers,” Chardon said July 26. The association said it hopes to be “open for membership soon.”

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, during a July 24 interview on Face the Nation, said that although some critics of the CHIPS bill say it helps semiconductor companies expand chip production in China due to grandfather provisions, she says the guardrails are adequate.

The Bureau of Industry and Security this week published two public comments it received on a May rule that proposed unilateral export controls on four dual-use biological toxins (see 2205200017). One comment, from Raytheon BBN, addresses the “feasibility of regulating access” to nodularin, brevetoxin, palytoxin and gonyautoxin, the four toxins that BIS said can be weaponized to kill people or animals, “degrade equipment” or damage the environment. The second comment, from Bill Root, a frequent public commenter during the agency’s technical advisory committee meetings, includes recommendations for revisions to the rule. Root also said the controls must be accompanied by “major changes” to the State Department’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations and “the regulations of other affected U.S. agencies.”

The departments of Commerce and Defense are establishing a new forum to better study potential controls for emerging technologies, Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said, speaking during a July 19 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. He said he has asked DOD to help him stand up a “critical technologies review board” to coordinate over a range of evolving technologies, including semiconductors, biotechnology and quantum computing. “This board will help BIS to understand the technologies DOD is investing in for military use,” he said, “and to help us impose appropriate controls for those technologies.” BIS recently announced it would stop categorizing technologies as either emerging or foundational before a control is imposed, which it hopes will help the interagency process move faster (see 2206270007).

The U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council’s Export Control Working Group will hold another stakeholder outreach meeting July 19 (see 2110260011 and 2206010007). The working group will solicit feedback and “ideas for future initiatives,” and the meeting will provide an opportunity for industry, academia and others to discuss with EU and U.S. officials “priorities for export control cooperation.” Registration closes July 15.

NSO Group, an Israeli cybersecurity company, has hired lobbyists, law firms and public relations companies in an effort to remove itself from the Commerce Department’s Entity List, ProPublica reported July 12. The company, which was added to the Entity List in November (see 2111030010), has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past year in an effort to influence lawmakers, think tanks and media outlets, the report said. NSO hopes to raise the issue during an upcoming meeting between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid during Biden’s trip to the Middle East this week, the report said. An NSO spokesperson didn’t comment.