The U.S. recently unsealed a pair of indictments, one against Russian national Denis Postovoy and the other against Chinese national Song Wu, for national security-related offenses. Postovoy is accused of conspiring to commit export control violations by shipping microelectronic components with military applications from the U.S. to Russia, while Song is charged with fraud and identity theft related to efforts to obtain confidential or proprietary software from government agencies, research universities and private companies.
Exports to China
The next U.S. presidential administration will face a host of emerging technology issues in international trade, including advanced computing chips, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centers, quantum and telecommunications infrastructure, said Nazak Nikakhtar, a Wiley Rein partner and a former acting Bureau of Industry and Security undersecretary.
Congress should consider encouraging greater use of export controls and sanctions to counter a recent surge in the repression of political dissent abroad, hearing witnesses told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week.
Chinese and Dutch government officials met in China this week to discuss export restrictions as part of the fifth round of the two countries’ formal export control dialogue, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced, according to an unofficial translation. Officials discussed “issues of concern in the field of export control,” China said, and “agreed to further strengthen communication and exchanges” and “jointly maintain the stability of the semiconductor industry chain and supply chain.” The meeting was held days after the Netherlands put in place new export controls over certain semiconductor manufacturing tools (see 2409090024).
The U.S. is imposing export penalties against three Chinese companies, a Pakistani company and a Chinese national for their involvement in “missile technology proliferation activities,” the State Department said in a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register Sept. 12.
The House approved several export control-related bills late Sept. 9, including the Remote Access Security Act, which is designed to close a loophole that has allowed China to use cloud service providers to access advanced U.S. computing chips remotely (see 2409040046).
The House passed a bill Sept. 9 that would cut off top Chinese leaders and their family members from the U.S. financial system if China takes military action against Taiwan.
Export controls, sanctions and investment screenings remain among the top challenges faced by U.S. companies doing business in China, according to an annual member survey released by the U.S.-China Business Council on Sept. 6.
Nazak Nikakhtar, acting head of the Bureau of Industry and Security during the Trump administration, blamed the deep state for a lack of urgency in confronting China, during a podcast interview with China Talk. Nikakhtar did not use that term, but said that it was hard for Commerce Department career officials to shift their thinking from promoting exports of goods to restricting exports or investment. Nikakhtar was previously a civil servant herself, working on antidumping and countervailing duty cases and negotiations with China.
The House of Representatives plans to vote on several export control-related bills next week, including the Remote Access Security Act, which is designed to close a loophole that has allowed China to use cloud service providers to access advanced U.S. computing chips remotely.