BIS begins proposed China rule comments review

BIS begins proposed China rule comments review The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is set to begin a comprehensive review of industry comments filed in response to the agency's proposed export control rule for China.
   The comment period closed Monday. The agency received 42 sets of comments, mostly from trade associations and groups of exporters, said Bernard Kritzer, director of BIS's Office of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls, during a Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) meeting Tuesday.
   The goal of the proposed rule is to make it more difficult for the Chinese military to obtain certain U.S.-made technologies and products. However, BIS said the proposed rule's voluntary validated end-user program for Chinese importers would ease the administrative burdens to comply.
   BIS officials are generally aware of the industry's dislike of the proposed rule through their attendance at industry gatherings and news reports since proposing the rule in early July.
   'It will be interesting to see what people came up with' in their comments, said Hillary Hess, director of the BIS Regulatory Policy Division.
   Kritzer told the RPTAC that it would take some time to review the comments and not to expect BIS to take the next step until early 2007.