BIS further suspends Affiliates Rule until January 2027

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is again extending its suspension of the Affiliates Rule until January 10, 2027.

Once implemented, the Affiliates Rule will expand BIS’s controls under the Export Administration Regulations to cover foreign entities owned directly or indirectly, individually or in aggregate, 50% or more by one or more persons listed on (1) the Entity List, (2) the Military End-User (MEU) List, or (3) the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) designated under a program listed in 15 C.F.R. § 744.8(a)(1).

The Affiliates Rule was originally scheduled to go into effect in September 2025 but was suspended until November 2026 as part of a bilateral trade agreement with China. The further suspension allows the United States and China to continue negotiating a broader trade deal under the status quo. But both the global implementation of China’s sweeping rare earth export controls and the Affiliates Rule could go into effect in January if the parties cannot reach a permanent bilateral agreement.