WASHINGTON – A coalition of leading tech and business associations sent a letter to Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Richard Ashooh urging the administration to extend the comment period for the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding the review of controls for emerging technologies set forth in the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA).

Recognizing the legitimate national security concerns that drove the modernized ECRA, the chorus of business groups called to extend the comment period to 90 days, instead of 30 days, so they can properly research and prepare comprehensive feedback to the extensive policy concerns and technological complexities the proposed measure presents.

“As made clear in the notice, ‘updating the export control lists without impairing national security or hampering the ability of the U.S. commercial sector to keep pace with international advances in emerging fields’ is essential and complex,” the associations wrote. “As such, we request that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) extend the notice’s comment period to 90 days to ensure our associations and our members have adequate time to review the notice and provide comprehensive feedback to address the policy concerns and technological complexities at issue… [I]t is clear Congress sought to ensure that those businesses and industries impacted by this new authority be able to provide detailed information to inform the implementation process.”

The letter, sent Wednesday evening, was signed by Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), BSA – The Software Alliance, Business Roundtable (BRT), Coalition of Services Industries (CIS), Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), Consumer Technology Association (CTA), Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), Organization for International Investment (OFII), Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), and Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA).

Read the letter below or here.

November 28, 2018

Mr. Richard Ashooh

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration

Bureau of Industry and Security

U.S. Department of Commerce

1401 Constitution Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20230

Dear Assistant Secretary Ashooh:

The undersigned associations welcome the opportunity to provide comments in response to the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding the review of controls for emerging technologies set forth in the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA). We recognize the legitimate national security concerns that drove the modernized ECRA, this rulemaking process that seeks to define and identify emerging technologies, and future processes to examine foundational technologies.

As made clear in the notice, “updating the export control lists without impairing national security or hampering the ability of the U.S. commercial sector to keep pace with international advances in emerging fields” is essential and complex.

As such, we request that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) extend the notice’s comment period to 90 days to ensure our associations and our members have adequate time to review the notice and provide comprehensive feedback to address the policy concerns and technological complexities at issue. From the text of the ECRA, it is clear Congress sought to ensure that those businesses and industries impacted by this new authority be able to provide detailed information to inform the implementation process.

We appreciate that there will be a proposed rule on which the public will have an opportunity to provide comments before any final controls are imposed. Nonetheless, 30 days does not provide enough time for those potentially affected by the issue to properly research and prepare responses given the range of technology areas initially outlined.

We look forward to working with you and BIS to ensure that the government receives the best input it can from all available sources about emerging technologies as laid out in the ECRA.

Sincerely,

Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)

BSA – The Software Alliance

Business Roundtable (BRT)

Coalition of Services Industries (CSI)

Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)

Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)

Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA)

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)

National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC)

Organization for International Investment (OFII)

Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)

Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA)

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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