The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security plans a virtual forum April 8 at 2 p.m. EDT to collect input on how the Biden administration can help boost the competitiveness and capacity of the U.S. semiconductor industry, says Tuesday’s Federal Register. Comments are due April 5 on the BIS notice of inquiry on semiconductor competitiveness (see 2103110054). The comments and feedback from the forum will help shape Commerce’s policy recommendations to the White House on President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order to relieve bottlenecks in the chip supply chain. Registration for the virtual forum closes Thursday.

The U.S. and European Commission will “intensify” negotiations on an “enhanced” EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework to comply with the Schrems II decision (see 2101150016), Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced Thursday with European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders. The negotiations “underscore our shared commitment to privacy, data protection and the rule of law and our mutual recognition of the importance of transatlantic data flows to our respective citizens, economies, and societies,” they said. Also Thursday, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said the U.S. and EU should forge a "pragmatic" digital alliance for data transfers (see 2103250004).

Global videoconferencing device shipments are expected to reach 12.5 million units by 2025, a sixfold increase from 2020, reported Frost & Sullivan Wednesday. “This year marks the beginning of the revival of meeting rooms and office spaces,” F&S said. “As businesses and educational institutions prepare for the return to work, meeting rooms and classrooms will see heavy technology investments to support hybrid work and learning.” The company projects global revenue will exceed $7.7 billion in 2025, vs. $2.75 billion in 2020: “The long-term, sustainable demand for video meetings to connect remote workers and geographically dispersed teams” is driving the “secular growth opportunity,” said F&S.

The Department of Commerce should delay implementing an interim final rule on securing the information and communications technology and services (ICTS) supply chain, the Information Technology Industry Council commented Monday in docket 210113-0009. The rule is meant to address foreign adversaries’ exploitation of software and hardware sales and intellectual property theft. Its “breadth coupled with the broad discretion the rule grants to the Secretary continue to cast a cloud of uncertainty over almost all ICTS transactions and could undermine the national security objectives it purports to address, while also hindering U.S. competitiveness,” ITI said. Microsoft recommended an approach that “incentivizes adoption of technology-based best practices to better protect supply chain security and maintain tech leadership.” These incentives, rather than imposing “undue and unpredictable regulatory burdens,” will “better protect supply chain security and help the United States and other democracies maintain tech leadership,” wrote Associate General Counsel-Global Trade Sarah O’Hare.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security plans to issue another set of emerging technology controls this year and hopes to propose them for multilateral control in 2022, said Matt Borman, BIS acting assistant secretary-export administration. Borman said he hopes BIS can fall into a more predictable “sequence” for its emerging and foundational technology control effort and move past last year’s pandemic disruptions. The “ideal scenario” is to seek comment “during the course of this year, so that we can tee them up early next year” for a Wassenaar Arrangement meeting, Borman told the department's Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee meeting. “That's the sequencing I'd like to get us into.” BIS plans to share the proposals with advisory committees “relatively soon,” he said Friday. “We want to make sure that the regime discussions are as informed as possible."

SoftBank launched its 5G millimeter-wave service in Japan using devices based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platforms and modem, Qualcomm said Friday. All initial 5G mmWave-compatible mobile devices in SoftBank’s lineup, including soon-to-be-announced 5G smartphones, are expected to be Qualcomm-powered, along with a pocket Wi-Fi 5G mmWave mobile hot spot.

The U.S. should form a strong global technology alliance and promote better interagency cooperation on technology policies to more effectively compete with China, former government officials said. They said this must start with the White House and Congress embracing industrial policy and pouring resources into protecting critical tech. “There are people in the tech world who understand that China is catching up,” said WestExec Advisors co-founder Michele Flournoy at a Center for a New American Security event Tuesday. “If we don't do something different, they're going to surpass us." CNAS national security expert Loren DeJonge Schulman said the Biden administration recognizes the importance of international standards setting bodies for critical tech, where the U.S. has ceded leadership roles to China. Although the U.S. tried to become more involved in those bodies, including issuing a rule last year that let companies more easily participate in bodies in which Huawei is a member, Schulman wants more action. Form a stronger technology partnership with like-minded allies, advised Sue Gordon, Pallas Advisors senior adviser. The Biden administration can learn from some mistakes made by the Trump administration, including its failure to form a strong coalition against Huawei, she said. “Huawei is a great example where it was really hard for our partners to catch up to where we wanted to go once they had already made a bunch of decisions on their own.” The White House and China's embassy didn’t comment Wednesday.

The Telecommunications Industry Association is developing a standard to ensure information and communications technology supply chain security. “The SCS 9001 standard will provide the means for service providers and manufacturers to demonstrate and ensure that their supply chains meet the critical benchmarks needed,” TIA said Monday: “This will ultimately increase trust in the ICT supply chain, while preventing exposure to cyberattacks.”

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on how the Biden administration can help boost U.S. semiconductor industry competitiveness and capacity amid global chip shortages, says Monday’s Federal Register. The comments, due April 5 in docket BIS-2021-0011, will help shape Commerce’s policy recommendations to the White House on President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order to relieve bottlenecks in the semiconductor supply chain.

New Honda and Acura vehicles in Canada come equipped with built-in Wi-Fi hot spots that enable drivers and their passengers to stay fully connected hands-free, Bell Canada and Honda announced Thursday. Targeted to mobile workers, commuters and families, this capability “will seamlessly support browsing, streaming and sharing” on up to seven devices, leveraging 4G LTE. Devices can stay connected up to 50 feet away from the vehicle, said the companies.