Client Alert
BIS Offers Streamlined Process for License Extension Requests / PRC Expands Export Controls
October 20, 2020
By:
On October 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) implemented a new streamlined procedure for exporters to request six-month extensions of BIS licenses that expire on or before December 31, 2020. These requests for license extensions can be emailed to: LicenseExtensionRequest@bis.doc.gov. BIS estimates that processing will take only two to three business days, and expects to approve most extension requests.
BIS’s press release on this new extension policy is attached below. If you or your customers have any licenses that are expiring this year, the streamlined process described above may assist in obtaining timely extensions from BIS.
Separately, on October 17, 2020, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) passed a new law to expand its export controls on certain items, including military and nuclear products. The law will come into effect on December 1, 2020, and PRC regulatory authorities have been tasked with publishing lists of specific items controlled under the new law. In addition, the law grants PRC agencies the authority to restrict exports to companies designated on the PRC equivalent of the U.S. Entity List. It is possible that China may use this list to reciprocate against U.S. Entity List designations of large PRC companies like Huawei. Once the law goes into effect, U.S. importers of certain PRC goods may need to provide end-use certificates and other information to PRC exporters to allow them to apply for export permits. We will provide another alert once there is more clarity on the new PRC export controls regime and licensing requirements.
