I don’t spend much time dealing with export regulations. It’s kind of hard to ship a commercial office building oversees. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is responsible for implementing and enforcing the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which regulate the export and reexport of most commercial items. Other agencies regulate more specialized exports.
If you are shipping stuff oversees, you need to determine if you need a license. There four questions you need to ask:
- What are you exporting?
- Where are you exporting?
- Who will receive your item?
- What will your item be used for?
I’m focused on the “who will receive your item list, because there are long lists of individuals and organizations are prohibited from receiving U.S. exports. These are the general lists:
BIS Entity List
– EAR Part 744, Supplement 4 – A list of organizations identified by BIS as engaging in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. http://www.access.gpo.gov/bis/ear/pdf/744spir.pdf
Treasury Department Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List – EAR Part 764, Supplement 3 – A list maintained by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control comprising individuals and organizations deemed to represent restricted countries or known to be involved in terrorism and narcotics trafficking. http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf
The Unverified List is composed of firms for which BIS was unable to complete an end-use check. Firms on the unverified list present a “red flag” that exporters have a duty to inquire about before making an export to them. http://www.bis.doc.gov/enforcement/unverifiedlist/unverified_parties.html
Denied Persons – You may not participate in an export or reexport transaction subject to the EAR with a person whose export privileges have been denied by the BIS. http://www.bis.doc.gov/dpl/thedeniallist.asp
If you’re dealing with defense articles and defense services, you will need to look at the Department of State’s Directorate of Defense and Trade Controls. They have limitations imposed by country: County Policies and Embargoes.
If you’re dealing with nuclear material, then you need to avoid the embargoed countries listed in 10 CFR 110.28 and the restricted destinations in 10 CFR 110.29.
There are a bunch of other programs, but they seem mostly focused on specialized materials and are do not have specific lists of blocked parties.
Sources:
- Introduction to Commerce Department Export Controls by the Bureau of Industry and Security
Doug, this is a good introduction to export controls and sanctions compliance. Your readers may be interested to know that BIS maintains a web page containing a link to the various restricted party lists at: http://www.bis.doc.gov/complianceandenforcement/liststocheck.htm.
Also, further information and updates on the latest export controls and sanctions issues can be found at http://www.tradelawnews.com.
Doug –
Thank you for the additional resources. It is a pain in the neck trying to find export limitations.