The US Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce has added DJI to its ‘Entity List’, identifying the Chinese company as a national security concern and banning US-based companies from exporting technology to the company.
DJI is one of four companies accused of enabling wide-scale human rights abuses within China through abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance, and/or facilitated the export of items by China that aid repressive regimes around the world, contrary to U.S. foreign policy interests
Overall seventy-seven entities have been determined by the U.S.Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.
This rule is effective December 18, 2020.
The Entity List (supplement no. 4 to part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR)) identifies entities for which there is reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable facts, that the entities have been involved, are involved, or pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. The EAR (15 CFR parts 730-774) impose additional license requirements on, and limit the availability of most license exceptions for exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) to listed entities.
The license review policy for each listed entity is identified in the “License review policy” column on the Entity List, and the impact on the availability of license exceptions is described in the relevant Federal Register notice adding entities to the Entity List. BIS places entities on the Entity List pursuant to part 744 (Control Policy: End-User and End-Use Based) and part 746 (Embargoes and Other Special Controls) of the EAR.
The End-User Review Committee (ERC), composed of representatives of the Departments of Commerce (Chair), State, Defense, Energy and, where appropriate, the Treasury, makes all decisions regarding additions to, removals from, or other modifications to the Entity List. The ERC makes all decisions to add an entry to the Entity List by majority vote and all decisions to remove or modify an entry by unanimous vote.
Under § 744.11(b) (Criteria for revising the Entity List) of the EAR, entities for which there is reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable facts, that the entities have been involved, are involved, or pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved in activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States, and those acting on behalf of such entities, may be added to the Entity List. Paragraphs (b)(1) through (5) of § 744.11 provide an illustrative list of activities that could be considered contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.
This rule implements the decision of the ERC to add seventy-seven entities, under a total of seventy-eight entries, to the Entity List.
In the case of DJI, BIS imposes a license review policy of case by case review for items necessary to detect, identify and treat infectious disease and a presumption of denial for all other items subject to the EAR.
This Final Rule from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 12/22/2020 and available online here.
“DJI is disappointed in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision,” a representative of the company said in a statement. “Customers in America can continue to buy and use DJI products normally.”
Source: US Department of Commerce Statement