The Entity List is a trade restriction list published by the United States Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), consisting of certain foreign persons, entities, or governments.[1] It is published as Supplement 4 of Part 744 of the Code of Federal Regulations.[2] Entities on the Entity List are subject to U.S. license requirements for the export or transfer of specified items, such as some U.S. technologies.[1][3] However, U.S. persons or companies are not prohibited from purchasing items from a company on the Entity List.[4] Being included on the Entity List is less severe than being designated a "denied person" and more severe than being placed on the Unverified List (UVL).[5]
First published in 1997 to inform the public on entities involved in disseminating weapons of mass destruction, the list has since expanded to include entities that engaged in "activities sanctioned by the State Department and activities contrary to U.S. national security and/or foreign policy interests".[6] It is published by the BIS at Supplement No. 4 to Part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).[1]
Listed entities
The Entity List includes companies and organizations based in multiple countries such as China,[7] Venezuela,[7] Russia,[7][8][9] Switzerland,[8] Germany,[8] Taiwan,[10] Japan,[11] Myanmar,[12] Singapore,[9] Canada, Iran, Lebanon, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom,[13] Greece, Hungary, Ireland, North Macedonia[14] Israel,[9] and others. It does not include any organizations in North Korea.
China
According to the Bureau of Industry and Security, there are approximately 600 Chinese entities[needs update] on the Entity List.[15] Designated entities consist of mainly companies and research institutions (including universities like Harbin Institute of Technology) involved in military technology, 5G, AI, and other advanced technologies.[15] Dozens of Chinese entities participating in China's military-civil fusion or the alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang province are on the list, including companies that make surveillance gear and those that helped the Chinese military to construct artificial islands in the South China Sea.[16]
Huawei
Notable entities on the Entity List include Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications and consumer electronics manufacturer.[3] Huawei was added to the list in May 2019, with a revision in May 2020 that further tightened sanctions,[17] resulting in it no longer being able to use certain Android software on its smartphones.[3] While Google services are banned in mainland China, consumers outside mainland China are accustomed to Google services, and Huawei's smartphone market share declined as a result.[3]
History
From 1997 to 2007, the entity list was rarely used; it listed approximately 200 companies, mostly in the fields of aerospace, chemicals, logistics, and non-telecommunications technology.[18]: 113 Beginning in 2008, the government used the entity list more frequently to address security, trade, and foreign policy concerns.[18]: 113 In early 2017, there were approximately 700 listed entities.[18]: 113
In May 2019, Chinese technology company Huawei was listed (sanctions against Huawei were further tightened in May 2020[17]).[3]
In August 2020, 5 Russian governmental facilities were listed for participating in Russia's chemical and biological weapons programs.[8]
In March 2021, the Biden administration added 14 entities (based in Russia, Switzerland and Germany) to the list for aiding Russia's weapons of mass destruction programs and chemical weapons activities; the listing of the 14 entities followed the addition of 5 Russian governmental facilities to the list in August 2020 for on the same grounds.[8]
In late 2020, the listed had expanded to almost 1,400 companies.[18]: 113
In March 2021, the Biden administration also announced restrictions on entities in Myanmar in response to the military coup in the country.[12]
In November 2021, Israeli technology companies NSO Group and Candiru were added for supplying spyware to foreign governments that used it to "maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers",[19] with Positive Technologies (Russia), and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE LTD (Singapore) also listed concurrently on similar grounds.[9]
Chinese responses
Huawei's response and stockpiling
Before the September 15, 2020 deadline, Huawei stockpiled "5G mobile processors, Wifi, radio frequency and display driver chips and other components" from key chip suppliers and manufacturers, including Samsung, SK Hynix, TSMC, MediaTek, Realtek, Novatek, and RichWave.[20] On its telecoms business (including 5G) and server business, Huawei has stockpiled 1.5 to 2 years' worth of chips and components.[21] It began massively stockpiling from 2018, when Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, was arrested in Canada upon U.S. request.[21]
China's Unreliable Entities List
In response to the Entity List, the Chinese government announced in May 2019 that it would establish an "unreliable entities" list (UEL).[22][23] It would allow China to respond to activities that endanger its "national sovereignty, security or development interests" as well as practices such as banning or "discriminating against a Chinese entity in violation of normal market transaction principles" causing serious damage.[24][23] The regulation went into effect in September 2020, after the Trump administration attempted to ban Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat from American app stores.[16]
Around 2019, the Chinese government warned Dell and Microsoft not to join the bans on the sale of American technology to Chinese companies.[25] In 2020, China was also considering issuing such an official warning to Apple and Boeing.[26] In 2023 Lockheed Martin and Raytheon became the first two companies on the list.[27][28]
