The Bureau of Industry and Security needs more resources to address the surge in export license applications that’s expected if its new 50% rule comes back into effect with no changes, industry groups said, adding that otherwise, the agency risks severely delaying or pausing large volumes of trade.
A bill that would require U.S. manufacturers of advanced AI chips to make their products available to American firms before selling them to China “is pretty common sense,” said Daniel Remler, a former State Department official.
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The Society for International Affairs this month released its Encryption Exception Handbook for Trade Professionals, covering how U.S. export controls apply to encryption items, export-control-related reporting requirements, FAQs and more.
The budget cuts proposed for the Commerce Department's Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) are somewhat inexplicable because there's no one in the Trump administration or elsewhere pushing for them, space industry leadership said Wednesday on Aerospace Corp.'s Space Policy Show podcast. Commercial Space Federation President David Cavossa and Satellite Industry Association President Tom Stroup agreed that the proposed cuts are a head-scratcher, with Cavossa noting that DOD has remained steadfast that it doesn't want to resume responsibility for space situational awareness for commercial space operations -- a responsibility TraCSS was to take over. TraCSS' cost -- $50 million a year -- is tiny compared with what the Trump administration is putting into air traffic control, he said. The federation is "doing everything we can to get people to understand how important that air traffic control equivalent is in space and that we need to keep that moving forward.”
The Semiconductor Industry Association urged Congress Sept. 5 to reject proposed legislation that it says would impose an “unprecedented expansion” of export controls on advanced AI computing chips.
Some companies and associations in the solar industry endorsed additional tariffs on Chinese polysilicon, but others expressed concern that allied countries will be hit with overlapping Section 232 tariffs on both imports of polysilicon and solar cells, in public comments to the Bureau of Industry and Security.
The Semiconductor Industry Association has hired Jaclyn Kellon, a former State Department official, to join its global policy team as a director. Kellon will work on supply chain security and cybersecurity matters with a focus on Southeast Asia and India, SIA said. She previously served as a foreign affairs officer in the State Department's Office of Critical Technology Protection, where she served as a technical expert on semiconductor technology policy topics.
The Bureau of Industry and Security’s lack of an official replacement regulation for the Biden-era AI diffusion rule is causing significant uncertainty for companies working in the semiconductor sector, industry officials said this week. Although BIS has said it doesn’t plan to enforce the rule, at least one consultant said she’s not yet comfortable advising clients to ignore those restrictions.
While the FCC saw lukewarm interest from terrestrial wireless players in greater access to the 42-42.5 GHz band (see 22308310053), the agency might find more enthusiasm from satellite interests, satellite spectrum experts tell us. The agency's May 22 meeting agenda will see it voting on a Further NPRM that proposes allowing more intensive satcom use of the 12.7 and 42 GHz bands, either as an alternative or complement to terrestrial wireless (see 2505010037). Some satellite operators are pushing the FCC to broaden the discussion to include the 51.4-52.4 GHz band.