While U.S. Section 232 national security investigations of imported products are mostly political exercises, there is nevertheless an opportunity for interested parties to submit their views, and the Chinese government has been doing so in the various investigations that are currently underway.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it has initiated two new investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine the effects on U.S. national security of imports of polysilicon and unmanned aircraft systems (drones).

With its latest batch of additions to the Entity List, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has tried to clamp down further on the access of Chinese companies to American semiconductors and other high-tech products.

The U.S. government's "Disruptive Technology Strike Force," an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce, is prosecuting a North Carolina businessman they say was attempting to illegally export sensitive technology to China.

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a nomination hearing today for several Trump administration officials, including the nomination of Jeffrey Kessler for Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security. If confirmed, Kessler will play a key role in a number of policy areas affecting trade

Yesterday, President Donald Trump directed the Secretary of Commerce to initiate a Section 232 investigation of copper imports, involving a review of whether these imports threaten to impair national security.

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) placed additional Chinese entities on the Entity List, through two separate actions, on the basis of "activities contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests."