On October 5, 2020, the Department of the Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Federal Register notice in which it finalized export controls on six recently developed or developing technologies that are essential to the national security of the United States. The changes were made in accordance with the United States and other countries participation in the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies; an agreement under which the parties seek to control items that may contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities. For U.S. export control purposes, these six technologies fall under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and this final rule is effective on October 5, 2020.

The final rule adds controls to the following six recently developed or developing technologies:

  1. Hybrid additive manufacturing (AM)/computer numerically controlled (CNC) tools;
  2. Computational lithography software designed for the fabrication of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) masks;
  3. Technology for finishing wafers for 5nm production;
  4. Digital forensics tools that circumvent authentication or authorization controls on a computer (or communications device) and extract raw data;
  5. Software for monitoring and analysis of communications and metadata acquired from a telecommunications service provider via a handover interface; and
  6. Sub-orbital craft.

Shipments of items subject to the final rule that were already en route to a foreign destination as of October 5, 2020, pursuant to actual orders for export, may proceed to that destination under the previous license exception eligibility or without a license so long as they have been exported, reexported or transferred (in-country) before December 4, 2020.