The Bureau of Industry and Security’s most recent annual report highlights that federal trade enforcement efforts are expanding significantly on the export side as well as the import side.
The report offers the following data on BIS enforcement efforts in 2025.
- imposed approximately $324 million in civil and criminal penalties, an 18-fold increase from 2024
- obtained criminal convictions of 65 individuals and companies for export violations resulting in $84.0 million in criminal fines, $81.5 million in forfeitures, and $5.3 million in restitution along with 2,668 months of imprisonment
- completed 53 administrative enforcement actions and imposed $108.1 million in civil penalties
- secured 162 indictments
- issued 455 warning letters, 705 detentions, and 232 seizures
- issued 29 denial orders against parties convicted under certain federal statutes
- completed 1,840 end-use checks in 73 countries, including 54 pre-license checks and 1,786 post-shipment verification
BIS also further expanded export controls in 2025, including by restricting exports of high-performance semiconductor chips, adding 142 entities to the Entity List, requiring export licenses for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and consumables to Korean- and Taiwanese-owned manufacturing facilities in China, and drastically curtailing the issuance of licenses for exports to companies on the Entity List. BIS also worked to secure foreign alignment with U.S. export controls, including through commitments in reciprocal trade agreements.
On the other side, the report notes, BIS took steps in 2025 to facilitate exports as well. BIS acted to eliminate regulations it felt unnecessarily limited exports, including repealing a rule that had prohibited U.S. firearms exports to 36 countries and announcing plans to rescind a rule “that would have suffocated the global AI industry and alienated American partners and allies.” BIS also processed approximately 30,500 export license applications with an average processing time of 62 days, less than the 90-day statutory benchmark.
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