Changes to export controls and import monitoring are among the new items on the Department of Commerce’s most recent semiannual regulatory agenda. This document lists the following regulations affecting international trade that could be issued within the next year as well as rulemaking proceedings that have been in process for some time and are not as likely to see further progress in the near term. The expected timeframes for issuance of these rules are indicated in parentheses.
Upcoming Regulations
- a proposed rule to revise the de minimis provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (July 2020; first time published)
- an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the scope of potential foundational technologies and criteria for determining which of those technologies (and therefore related items) are essential to national security (July 2020; previously December 2019)
- a final rule establishing a general policy of denial for license applications for exports, reexports, or transfers (in-country) of items controlled for national security reasons to Russia, with certain exceptions (July 2020; previously December 2019)
- a proposed rule on the definition of a routed export transaction and the responsibilities of parties in such transactions (July 2020, previously December 2019; advance notice of proposed rulemaking issued in October 2017)
- a proposed rule to clarify that for all entries subject to antidumping duties the importer must file its reimbursement certification in either proper electronic form or paper form in accordance with U.S. Customs and Border Protection requirements (July 2020; previously December 2019)
- a proposed rule to (a) eliminate references to information provided by domestic interested parties regarding sales made below the cost of production in order to allege dumping and (b) allow the DOC’s use of voluntarily submitted information to calculate constructed value (July 2020; previously December 2019)
- a proposed rule that would align DOC regulations with the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, which provides that the DOC shall not be required to corroborate any dumping margin or countervailing duty applied in a separate segment of the same proceeding (July 2020; previously December 2019)
- a final rule to enhance the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis system to require import license applicants to identify the country where steel used in the manufacture of the imported steel product was melted and poured and to harmonize the scope of the system’s licensing requirement with the scope of steel products subject to Section 232 tariffs (July 2020; proposed rule issued in March 2020)
- a proposed rule to improve the administration and enforcement of AD and CV duty laws, including with respect to new shipper reviews, scope rulings, circumvention, covered merchandise referrals, and importer reimbursement certifications (July 2020; previously December 2019)
- a final rule revising the regulations governing the use of “dolphin-safe” labels on tuna products, including by (1) modifying the requirements for the certifications that must accompany the fisheries certificate of origin and (2) broadening the scenarios under which the DOC may determine that regular and significant mortality and/or association of dolphins is occurring in tuna fisheries (July 2020)
- a final rule classifying software specially designed to automate the analysis of geospatial imagery under ECCN 0D521 (July 2020; interim final rule issued January 2020)
- a final rule revising the country group designations for Pakistan for national security, foreign policy, and proliferation-related concerns to facilitate and support accountability for exports and reexports of items to this country (July 2020; first time published)
- an interim final rule on potential export controls on quantum computers (August 2020; previously December 2019)
- a proposed rule to restrict the availability of license exceptions STA (strategic trade authorization) and TSR (technology and software restricted) for certain items (August 2020; previously December 2019)
- a final rule aligning the enforcement provisions of the EAR with the Export Control Reform Act, including revising penalty guidelines and enforcement authority (August 2020; previously December 2019)
- a final rule to establish an aluminum import monitoring and analysis system (August 2020; proposed rule issued April 2020)
- a final rule revising the export licensing policy for items controlled for crime control reasons and providing that BIS will consider human rights concerns in reviewing license applications for items controlled for reasons other than crime control reasons, except for items controlled for short supply reasons (August 2020; previously January 2020)
- an interim final rule adding export controls for multi-gate field-effect transistor technology (August 2020; first time published)
- a final rule to impose a license requirement on exports and reexports of water cannons and specially designed parts and components (August 2020; first time published)
- a final rule modifying license exception APR (additional permissive reexports) to remove provisions that authorize reexports of certain national security-controlled items on the CCL (September 2020; proposed rule issued April 2020)
- a final rule making clarifications to the process for requesting exclusions from the Section 232 tariffs and quotas on aluminum and steel products (October 2020, previously January 2020; interim final rule published September 2018)
- an interim final rule on export controls for additive manufacturing equipment for energetic materials and related software and technology (November 2020; previously December 2019)
- a proposed rule to require review of certain technology transfers that would not otherwise require licenses according to the CCL (November 2020; previously January 2020)
- a proposed rule to amend certain 600 series ECCNs to clarify the controls on items related to military vehicles, vessels of war, submersible vessels, oceanographic equipment, and auxiliary and miscellaneous military equipment (November 2020; previously April 2020)
- a final rule expanding and reorganizing the direct product rule to narrowly and strategically target Huawei’s acquisition of semiconductors that are the direct product of certain U.S. software and technology (December 2020; interim final rule published May 2020)
- a proposed rule to update and clarify certain license exception AVS (aircraft, vessels, and spacecraft) provisions (January 2021; first time published)
- a proposed rule to revise the regulations defining the criteria and process for identification and certification of nations with vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, bycatch of protected living marine resources, and unsustainable shark catch on the high seas (March 2021)
Regulations Completed
- a final rule removing license exception CIV (civil end users) and requiring a license for national security-controlled items to countries of national security concern
- a final rule rule expanding license requirements on exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) of items intended for military end-use or military end-users in China, Russia, or Venezuela
- a final rule clarifying how the DOC determines the existence of a benefit resulting from a subsidy in the form of currency undervaluation
Regulations to be Withdrawn
- a rule to establish a voluntary trusted trader program for seafood importers (to be withdrawn July 2020; proposed rule published January 2018)
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