The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. will maintain its focus on Chinese investment, prioritize enforcement and continue to tweak its jurisdiction under the Joe Biden administration (see 2009170017 and 2010270050), trade lawyers said. CFIUS also will likely continue to see an increase in filings, the lawyers said.
Exports to China
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Jan. 11-15 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Congress and the incoming administration should strengthen and maintain a range of export controls and sanctions to prevent China from acquiring sensitive U.S. technologies and items used for repression, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China said in its 2020 annual report. The report and an executive summary, issued Jan. 14, urge the U.S. to continue to dedicate resources to restrict exports to China in order to prevent human rights violations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced new controls on technologies and activities that may be supporting foreign military-intelligence end-uses and end-users in China, Cuba, Russia, Venezuela and other “terrorist-supporting” countries. The agency also will bolster controls to prevent U.S. people from supporting weapons programs, weapons delivery systems and weapons production facilities, BIS said in an interim final rule issued Jan. 15. The changes take effect March 16. Comments are due March 1.
China criticized trade restrictions announced by the United Kingdom and Canada this week, which included export controls, import restrictions and other penalties for involvement with forced labor practices in Xinjiang. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson dismissed the allegations and urged both countries to reverse the measures. “Is there the slightest seriousness in their foreign policies?” the spokesperson said Jan. 13, according to a transcript of a regular news conference provided by the ministry. The comment was made in response to a question from a Reuters reporter, according to the transcript. “The U.K. and Canada should immediately revoke their erroneous decision, stop meddling in China's internal affairs and harming China's interests.”
The United Kingdom and Canada announced a range of measures to restrict trade with China’s Xinjiang region over allegations of human rights violations committed against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities. The measures include export controls, restrictions on certain imports produced by forced labor in the region and penalties for companies that violate the measures. Both countries also issued business advisories for companies operating in the region, warning them about compliance risks and exposure to penalties.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Jan. 5 to ban certain transactions with Chinese apps Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay and WPS Office. The restrictions, effective 45 days after the order was issued, will block transactions between any person or company subject to U.S. jurisdiction with people or companies that “develop or control” the apps. It also directs the Commerce Department to recommend measures to prevent exports of U.S. user data to “foreign adversaries” and to establish a licensing regime for those data exports.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some top stories for 2020 in case they were missed.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this month released the full set of comments it received on its pre-rule for foundational technologies (see 2008260045 and 2010070012), including hundreds of pages of feedback from U.S. and global semiconductor companies urging the agency to refrain from imposing narrow, unilateral export controls. BIS also received comments from some of the world’s largest technology companies, including Google and Microsoft, both of which told BIS that its controls could create unmanageable problems for compliance programs.
China criticized the U.S. move to add Chinese companies to its Entity List last week (see 2012180039), saying it unfairly suppresses Chinese industry and is an abuse of export controls. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged the U.S. to reverse the measures. “China firmly opposes this and will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” the spokesperson said Dec. 19, according to an unofficial translation of a release of a press conference transcript.