BIS adds 80 to Entity List to restrict China AI and other programmes
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (‘BIS’) announced 26 March that it had added 80 entities to the US Entity List, ‘from China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Africa, Iran, Taiwan, and others for activities contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy.’
It said, ‘As part of these measures, BIS is working toward the following objectives:
- Restrict the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ability to acquire and develop high performance and exascale computing capabilities, as well as quantum technologies, for military applications;
- Impede China’s development of its hypersonic weapons program;
- Prevent entities associated with the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) from using U.S. items to train Chinese military forces;
- Disrupt Iran’s procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related defense items; and
- Impair the development of unsafeguarded nuclear activities and ballistic missile program.’
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said, ‘Under the strong leadership of President Donald Trump, the Commerce Department is taking decisive action to protect America. We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives.’
BIS said the revisions ‘include:
- 12 entities—11 under the destination of China and one under the destination of Taiwan—are added for engaging in the development of advanced AI, supercomputers, and high performance AI chips for China-based end-users with close ties to the country’s military industrial complex.
- 13 entities, including under the destinations of China, are added for their contributions to unsafeguarded nuclear activities.
- Seven entities added for contributions to ballistic missile programs
- 27 Chinese entities are added for acquiring or attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of China’s military modernization. These entities have demonstrable ties to activities of concern, including the development of hypersonic weapons and the design and modeling of vehicles in hypersonic flight
- Seven entities located in China…added for acquiring or attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of advancing the CCP’s quantum technology capabilities, presenting serious ramifications for U.S. national security given the military applications of quantum technologies.
- Two Chinese entities…added for selling products to parties on the Entity List, including Huawei and affiliated entity HiSilicon.
- Two entities in Iran and China are added for attempting to procure U.S.-origin items for Iran’s defense industry and unmanned aerial vehicle programs.
- Ten entities under the destinations of China, South Africa, and the UAE are added due to their links to the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) —a party added to the Entity List on June 12, 2023—and the training of Chinese military forces using Western and NATO sources.’
It said that it was ‘modifying one existing entity, Dart Aviation, under four entries on the Entity List under the destinations of France, Iran, Senegal, and the United Kingdom. This entry is modified by adding two additional aliases and one additional address. Dart Aviation was added to the Entity List in 2019 for transshipping U.S.-origin items to sanctioned destinations.’
