Thirty-one Chinese companies added to US 'unverified' control list

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
7 Oct 2022 19:13
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When a company is added to an unverified list, it usually means that it is ineligible to receive items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by means of a license exception.

Thirty-one Chinese companies added to US export control list

Thirty-one Chinese companies and entities were added to the US Department of Commerce in its "unverified" export control list, according to a drafted federal registry note.

"The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 31 persons to the Unverified List (UVL). The 31 persons have added to the UVL on the basis that BIS was unable to verify their bona fides because an end-use check could not be completed satisfactorily for reasons outside the US," the note states.

The Bureau of Industry and Security states that "Unverified List (UVL) are ineligible to receive items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by means of a license exception. In addition, exporters must file an Automated Export System record for all exports to parties listed on the UVL and obtain a statement from such parties prior to exporting, reexporting, or transferring to such parties any item subject to the EAR which is not subject to a license requirement."

The inclusion of these Chinese companies and entities to the "unverified" list could therefore signify an important step toward their blacklisting.

The notice stated that the Bureau of Industry and Security was “unable to verify [the companies’] bona fides because an end-use check could not be completed satisfactorily for reasons outside the US government’s control."

Among the listed entities and companies were included Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd, Wuxi Biologics, the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, among others - the majority being specialized in the production of biotechnologies and scientific research.

In Another context, A US Commerce Department document that will be released on October 13 states that the country has increased regulations on the export of supercomputers and semiconductors with regard to 28 Chinese entities.

"BIS [Bureau of Industry and Security] is expanding controls on transactions involving items for supercomputer and semiconductor manufacturing end uses, for example, this rule expands the scope of foreign-produced items subject to license requirements for twenty-eight existing entities on the Entity List that are located in China," the document said.

See this: The US to launch biotech, bio-manufacturing initiative

On August 9, the Biden administration passed into law an act that provides roughly $280 billion in new funding to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors in the US.

Since then, the White House has recently signed several decrees pertaining to the matter in light of growing tensions with China and Russia.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said Beijing "firmly opposed" the bill as it strikes as a "Cold War mentality."

Due to the global microchip shortage, the US economy lost last year $240 billion, and a war over Taiwan would be even more catastrophic for the US due to its reliance on one single supplier, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

The US crackdown on the sale of technology to China has already begun to have an impact, with the US chip designer Nvidia disclosing last week that it had been told by US officials to stop exporting two top computing chips for artificial intelligence work to China.

On September 7, it was reported that selected companies that receive funding from the initiative are prohibited from building facilities in China for 10 years.

Over the last few days, the Biden administration has already struck major deals with tech giants.

Last month, Wolfspeed's pledged to spend $5 billion on a new semiconductor plant in North Carolina.

Two days ago, Micron's announced a $100-billion investment in the manufacture of semiconductors in New York.

Yesterday, it struck a deal worth $20 billion with IBM to initiate projects in the development of semiconductors, quantum computing, and other cutting-edge technology.

Despite the dire needs of American citizens who suffered tremendous material losses during Hurricane Ian, among other severe social issues, the Biden administration is still setting its priorities on investing in biotech and bio-manufacturing.