FutureofBIS

New Year, New BIS Standards to Safeguard U.S. National Security

Posted on by China Tech Threat
The end of 2022 brought good news for those working to keep Americans safe from Chinese tech threats: the federal government banned TikTok on federal government devices, and several state governments did the same. Most importantly, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) and 35 other Chinese entities to the Entity List, depriving them of American technologies that will almost find their way into the hands of the Chinese military. This major listing isn’t just a needed national security action – it sets a new standard for how BIS should approach Chinese tech companies. There is no doubt Under Secretary Alan Estevez and his team put loads of work into the process, and learned lessons… Read More


Is Commerce Getting Played By The Chinese Government On Export Controls?

Posted on by China Tech Threat
China Tech Threat Co-Founder Dr. Roslyn Layton issued the below statement following the U.S. Commerce Department’s announcement today that YMTC, a state-backed chip maker with close ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has been added to the Entity List, along with several other Chinese companies.  “The Commerce Department passed the 60-day window it set for itself to determine if PRC national champion chipmaker YMTC should be moved from the Unverified List to the Entity List. Its October 7 Export Control announcement seemed to signal a new era of enforcement at Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), but praising ‘better behavior’ and ‘changes in attitude’ from China is not a strategy that will protect America’s national and economic security, especially given the Chinese… Read More

New CTT Memo on Export Controls: “Five Areas to Watch During This Critical 60 Day Window”

Posted on by China Tech Threat
On October 27, China Tech Threat released a new memo calling attention to five priority areas worthy of attention in the wake of the Department of Commerce’s new China-focused export controls issued on October 7. The new set of rules have been described as “wreaking havoc on China’s chip industry” and “strangling with intent to kill.” But it’s hard to gauge their full impact after only three weeks. Alan Estevez, the Under Secretary of the Bureau of Industry and Security, has said “we are not done” on focusing on the Chinese semiconductor sector. We’re now 20 days into an important 60 day window that will mark a critical time for analysts, reporters, and industry observers to assess how serious the… Read More

BIS Explains New China-Focused Export Controls, Entity List Regulations

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last Friday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) introduced new export controls to restrict the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) ability to purchase or manufacture certain high-end chips, a move which China Tech Threat applauds. This timely action also includes the addition of 31 China-based companies and institutions, including Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation (YMTC), which is China’s top memory chip maker and linked to the Chinese military, to the Unverified List. The rules are having an immediate impact. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday – just under a week later – that American semiconductor manufacturing equipment companies such as KLA Corp and Lam Research are hitting pause on their operations in China and pulling out their staff based at… Read More

Russia Hammered by Export Controls, But China Gets a Pass

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Roslyn Layton has a new column at Forbes illustrating some incoherence on the Commerce Department’s incoherent export control policy: This week Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo kicked off the first Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) conference since the pandemic by saying that export controls “are at the red-hot center of how we best protect our democracies” and that they “matter more than ever.” As part of sweeping efforts in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, BIS added 36 new parties to the Entity List for providing support to Russia’s military and/or defense industrial base in connection with the Ukraine invasion, including 25 companies based in China. Yet BIS has been slow to address dual use exports to China’s military, which is the… Read More

BIS Leader Previews New Civil Penalties for Export Control Violations

Posted on by China Tech Threat
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, Matthew Axelrod, sounded all the right notes at a speech to the Society for International Affairs on May 16th. Recognizing that adversaries like Russia and China advance their own interests at the expense of the United States, Axelrod previewed strengthened civil penalties from BIS designed to deter American firms from violating export control laws. The proposed new penalties include: BIS publicly disclosing which companies it investigates for export control violations when a case opens, not when it is resolved, often years later Forcing companies to admit wrongdoing if they are found to have violated export control laws Increasing financial penalties for violations These ideas are welcome… Read More

Is BIS Edging Closer to Putting YMTC on the Entity List?

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Is BIS Edging Closer to Putting YMTC on the Entity List? The Information reports that the U.S. Department of Commerce is weighing restrictions on the sale of semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) to YMTC, China’s national champion semiconductor manufacturer known to have close ties with the Chinese military. These restrictions, which would also reportedly apply to other state-backed firms such as Hua Hong Semiconductor and ChangXin Memory Technologies, would deal a blow to YMTC’s ability to produce chips, and secure a victory for American national security. The rules, which reportedly take months to develop, would echo the decision the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) made in 2020 to place China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation on the Entity List… Read More

CTT Quick Cut: BIS Is at an “Inflection Point,” Should “Rebalance Economics and Security”

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last week Congress confirmed Alan Estevez to serve as Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, finally filling the top post at the “most important agency most Americans have never heard of.” Mr. Estevez’s confirmation comes at a critical juncture, and he inherits a full slate of issues to address. China Tech Threat Co-Founder Dr. Roslyn Layton was joined by Kevin Wolf, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, and Dr. Derek Scissors, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, for the latest CTT Quick Cut, “Competing Views on the Future of BIS,” where Mr. Estevez and the agency’s priorities were the focus of discussion. Setting an Agenda at BIS Mr. Estevez needs to take the lead on setting… Read More

#VoteEstevezNow: Our Adversaries Benefit from the Senate’s Delay

Posted on by China Tech Threat
As the crisis in Ukraine continues, more eyes are turning towards China. Over the weekend, The Washington Post reported that Russia is seeking military equipment and aid from China. Eric Sayers, a former advisor to the U.S. Indo Pacific Command, is quoted by The Post as saying, “If Beijing is offering any type of military assistance to aid Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the spillover effects on U.S.-China policy could be vast.” Sayers added, “It would abruptly end debate about pathways to working with Beijing. More importantly, it would push Washington to accelerate retaliatory and decoupling actions toward China, and create new pressure on companies now doing business in China.” Companies like Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA Corporation – semiconductor… Read More

The Clock is Ticking: #VoteEstevezNow

Posted on by China Tech Threat
This week China Tech Threat (CTT) launched a new campaign around the urgency for the Senate to confirm the next Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). It has been five years since the last confirmed BIS Director and seven months since President Biden nominated Alan Estevez, a national security veteran, to take the post. We’ve written extensively about the importance of BIS, calling it the most important agency most Americans have never heard of. Tasked with ensuring an effective export control system to promote America’s strategic technology leadership, the agency and its leaders play an important role in the U.S. government’s response to China’s unabashed ambition to dominate semiconductor and other critical technology… Read More