The U.S. should redouble efforts to control emerging and foundational technologies, establish a new outbound investment screening regime and create a new multilateral export control forum with close allies, said Emily Kilcrease, an economic statecraft expert with the Center for a New American Security. A new multilateral regime could be challenging to stand up, Kilcrease said, but is “imperative” to prevent proliferation of sensitive technologies to adversaries, including China and Russia.
The U.S. should be careful not to impose strict export controls on quantum technologies that risk hampering academic research and domestic innovation, quantum tech experts told the Center for Strategic and International Studies April 14. They also said the U.S. should allow for an open academic environment that encourages foreign researchers to enter and stay in the U.S. or risk losing those researchers to other countries, such as China.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 10 more planes to its list of restricted aircraft, including seven planes owned by Belavia, the first Belarusian airline added to the list, the agency said April 14. The agency also added two additional planes owned by Utair and one aircraft owned by Aeroflot. BIS said it will impose penalties and/or jail time or revoke export privileges for any company or person who violates the Export Administration Regulations by providing “any form of service” to the listed aircraft without a required BIS license.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this week urged China to join other countries in standing up to Russia, saying Beijing risks alienating itself from the global economy if it continues to sit out the conflict. Although the U.S. hasn’t yet seen evidence that China is helping Russia evade U.S. sanctions or export controls, Beijing hasn’t condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine and could still hand Moscow an economic lifeline, which would be met with U.S. secondary sanctions and strong export restrictions (see 2203080053, 2203140009 and 2203140009).
Russia’s war on Ukraine has greatly accelerated U.S. and EU collaboration on export controls, officials said, even surpassing some of the short-term goals of the Trade and Technology Council formed last year. Because of the highly coordinated controls, officials from both sides speak frequently and are able to discuss a range of shared export control issues, the officials said, including enforcement, licensing and the future of multilateral regimes.
Countries should strengthen multilateral export controls over advanced hypersonic weapons technologies and work closer to prevent their proliferation, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in an April report. This may require more stringent export restrictions at multilateral control regimes and better outreach to countries outside the regimes, the report said, including China.
The U.S. should make export control harmonization a priority as it pursues its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, ensuring that any restrictions are aligned with member countries and not unfairly hampering American companies, U.S. trade groups told the Commerce Department in comments released this week (see 2203140018). The U.S. could even use the IPEF to create a new multilateral export control regime, some groups said, which could specifically focus on semiconductor equipment or other advanced technologies.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed by a week a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced April 8. The ports had planned to begin imposing the fee in November 2021 but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until April 15.
Some U.S. export control policies are hindering the American semiconductor sector and chip innovation, technology companies and trade groups told the Commerce Department in recent comments (see 2201210024). Commerce can take steps to ease compliance challenges, including around deemed export controls, and make sure to propose narrow and multilateral emerging and foundational technology controls, the commenters said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week added Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland to the list of countries that have imposed similar export controls against Russia and are excluded from certain license requirements under two recently issued foreign direct product rules (see 2202240069). The additions take effect April 12. BIS previously added South Korea to the list (see 2203040075), which has more than 30 countries.