Assistant Secretary Matt Axelrod on Enforcing Export Controls

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4.7 • 6.4K Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2023

⏱️ 49 minutes

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Summary

The United States has long set restrictions on the export of certain sensitive goods and technologies, particularly to strategic rivals. But over the past several years, we have seen first the Trump and now the Biden administrations use the legal authorities behind these export controls in new and innovative ways, for purposes ranging from limiting China’s access to key emerging technologies to stymying Russia’s military effectiveness in Ukraine. The only problem is, once you impose these restrictions, you then have to enforce them—and that’s not always an easy task.

To learn more about how the Biden administration is taking on this challenge, Lawfare Contributing Editor Brandon Van Grack and Lawfare Senior Editor Scott R. Anderson sat down with Matthew Axelrod, Assistant Secretary of Export Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. They discussed how export control enforcement works; the sorts of coordination it requires with industry and foreign countries, friendly and unfriendly; and what new enforcement strategies the United States is pursuing as the use of export controls changes.

This is the latest episode of “The Regulators,” a special series Lawfare is co-producing with the law firm Morrison & Foerster, where Brandon is a partner. Each episode, Brandon and Scott sit down with some of the senior U.S. policymakers responsible for crafting and implementing the cutting edge policies that are defining our new era of economic statecraft.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The following podcast contains advertising.
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0:08.0	become a material supporter of Lawfair at Patreon.com slash Lawfair. That's Patreon.com
0:16.4	slash Lawfair. Also check out Lawfair's other podcast offerings, rational security, chatter, lawfare no bull, and the aftermath.
0:30.0	Do you hear that? It might sound like nothing to you, but it's actually the sound of nuclear, wind and solar energy.
0:43.0	At EDF, we're busy generating more British zero carbon and
0:47.0	electricity than anyone to help keep future energy costs down for everyone
0:51.0	and help cut UK carbon emissions to nothing.
0:54.0	Sound good to you?
0:56.0	Find out more about our zero carbon generation at EDF Energy.com slash Help in Britain. They believe that what we're doing is trying to constrain China, that we're trying to keep them down, that we're doing
1:16.2	this to sort of for economic reasons. And we've been really clear on that trip and and and elsewhere that that's that's not the case. This isn't about economics. It's about it's about national security. We want American business to be able to do business with with Chinese companies as long as they don't impact our national security and then when when we have concerns that it does impact our national security that's non-negotiable for us.
1:45.0	I'm Scott Ar Anderson and this is the Lawfare Podcast for November 17th, 2023.
1:50.0	The United States has long set restrictions on the export of certain sensitive goods and technologies,
1:55.1	particularly to strategic rivals. But over the past several years, we have seen first the Trump and now
2:00.2	the Biden administrations use the legal authorities behind these export controls in new and innovative ways
2:05.3	for purposes ranging from limiting China's access to key emerging technologies to stymying Russia's military
2:11.0	effectiveness in Ukraine. The only problem is once you impose
2:14.6	these new types of restrictions you then have to enforce them and that's not always
2:18.2	an easy task. To learn more about how the Biden administration is taking on
2:22.0	this challenge, Law Fair contributing
2:24.0	editor Brandon Van Grack and I sat down with Matthew Axelrod, Assistant Secretary of
2:28.0	an Export Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.
	...

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