Four Republican senators have called on the Commerce Department to reverse its decision to remove China’s Institute of Forensic Science from the Entity List, saying the easing of trade sanctions on the scientific lab was premature.
The U.S. this week announced new sanctions and export controls against a host of companies and people for violating export restrictions against Russia, including a Belgian businessman and his defense component procurement network. Along with new Treasury Department sanctions, DOJ said it was preparing to release two indictments against the man, Hans De Geetere, and the Bureau of Industry and Security added De Geetere, his affiliated companies and other unrelated parties to the Entity List for illegally supplying Russia’s military and defense industrial base.
Chinese drone-maker Autel Robotics hasn’t received any “inquiries” from U.S. government officials investigating whether the company should be placed on the Entity List, an Autel spokesperson said in a Dec. 1 email. The spokesperson said Autel is “solely dedicated to the development and production of civilian drones,” despite a letter last week to the Biden administration from leaders of the House Select Committee on China saying the company is affiliated with China’s military (see 2312010012). The letter asked the administration to add Autel to the Entity List and subject it to U.S. investment restrictions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 42 parties to the Entity List for helping to illegally supply parts and drones to Russia’s military industrial base, performing contracts for Russian government entities or for doing business with sanctioned companies. The companies and people added to the list are located in China, Cyprus, Germany, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. will increasingly look to apply new export licensing requirements to entire countries rather than to specific companies, which could lead to a shift away from the Entity List, Commerce Secretary Gina Riamondo said. She also said the agency will continue targeting new artificial intelligence-related products developed by American semiconductor companies, such as Nvidia, that fall just below U.S. export control thresholds.
The U.S. should place export controls and investment restrictions on Chinese drone maker Autel Robotics, which has ties to the country’s military and uses parts from at least one other Chinese company on the Entity List, the leaders of the House Select Committee on China said in a letter last week to the Biden administration. The lawmakers also said they’re concerned that the Chinese government uses Autel’s technology for human rights abuses in Xinjiang and that the company sells its products to Russia.
The Biden administration should investigate all Chinese lidar technology companies to determine whether they should be placed on the Entity List or made subject to U.S. investment restrictions, the House Select Committee on China said in a letter this week. The lawmakers said lidar, or light detection and ranging, is being used in autonomous systems and robotics but isn’t subject to export controls, potentially allowing a loophole for Chinese companies to acquire U.S. technologies for use in lidar systems that can aid the country’s military.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
An academic and journalists from England and Foreign Policy magazine agreed that President Joe Biden got more out of the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping than Xi did.