§2.License requirement for exports of covered integrated circuits to countries of concern
This section establishes a license requirement, administered by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security in coordination with the Operating Committee for Export Policy, for the export, reexport, or in-country transfer of covered integrated circuits to any entity located or headquartered in, or with an ultimate parent headquartered in, a country of concern (i.e., China including Hong Kong and Macau, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro). Covered integrated circuits include those classified under Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) 3A090 or 4A090 (or functionally equivalent products, including certain items under ECCN 5A002.z), or integrated circuits with total processing performance of 4,800 or more, 2,400 or more with performance density of 1.6 or more, 1,600 or more with performance density of 3.2 or more, or specified DRAM or interconnect bandwidth thresholds of 1,400 gigabytes per second or more (or a combined 1,700 gigabytes per second or more); the term also covers products containing such circuits (except those not designed or marketed for data centers), with authority for the Under Secretary to update parameters by majority Operating Committee vote beginning 18 months after submission of a required national security strategy to Congress.
No general license may be issued to satisfy this requirement.
Not fewer than 30 days before approving any such license, the Under Secretary must submit to the appropriate congressional committees (i.e., House Foreign Affairs and Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committees) the license application details—including quantity and technical parameters by ECCN, end-user, conditions, and a certification with explanation that the transaction includes verifiable mechanisms ensuring the end-user does not support or enable the military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber capabilities of the country of concern (with specifics addressing military-civil fusion policies or similar laws, as applicable). (Thus, these controls restrict U.S. advanced semiconductor exports to adversaries to protect national security, building on Export Administration Regulations administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security.)