Export Controls Eased to Expand Shipments to Allies and Partners

The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued two final rules (available here and here) that, effective Dec. 8, make the following changes to the Export Administration Regulations to liberalize several categories of export licensing requirements and the availability of export license exceptions for key allied and partner countries as well as members of certain multilateral export control regimes.

– removing proliferation of chemical and biological weapons controls on specified pathogens and toxins destined for Australia Group member countries

– removing crime control and detection controls on certain items destined for Austria, Finland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland

– aligning missile technology-related export controls on the Commerce Control List with changes to the Missile Technology Control Regime annex agreed in recent years

– expanding eligibility for the use of four license exceptions for missile technology-controlled items and adding one new authorization under an existing license exception

– revising the general restriction on the use of license exceptions to ensure that the limited set of additional license exception authorizations specified are not available for destinations of concern for missile technology reasons or that are subject to a U.S. arms embargo

Also as part of this effort BIS is proposing to revise license exception STA (strategic trade authorization) to encourage additional use of this exception for ally and partner countries. BIS states that the proposed changes would (1) clarify that this license exception is not list-based, (2) make it more explicit that this exception is eligible for deemed export and deemed reexports, (3) exclude deemed exports and deemed reexports from the requirement to have been listed on an approved license or other approval for 600 series technology, (4) adopt a simpler and consistent approach to identify ECCNs eligible for this exception, and (5) remove the limitation on the use of license exception APR for reexports between and among certain partner and ally countries. Comments on this proposal are due by Feb. 6.

For more information on these changes and how they might impact your business, please contact Kristine Pirnia at (202) 730-4964 or via email.