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We have eaten all the holiday meals and treats, we have counted down and watched the ball drop, and we have emptied a fair few champagne bottles.  Now, we are all resolving to be leaner, nimbler, smarter, and stronger in the New Year.

So is the ITAR.…

Continue Reading ECR Episode VIII: New Rules for the New Year

By: Scott Maberry and Reid Whitten

Since 2011, President Barack Obama’s administration has actively pursued export control reform designed to reduce the regulatory burdens on U.S. companies and enhance U.S. national security (as reported here).  On March 7, 2013, the Administration notified Congress of the first in a series of amendments to the U.S. Munitions List.  The next day, March 8, 2013, the White House released Executive Order 13637 to update delegations of presidential authority over the administration of export and import controls.  Also on March 8, the White House issued a fact sheet on the implementation of export control reform.  These steps, though small, mark clear progress in the President’s Export Reform Initiative.…
Continue Reading Streamlining the System: More Baby Steps Toward Reducing Export Compliance Burdens

By: Curt Dombek and Mark Jensen

On June 19, The U.S. Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) proposed a joint, largely standardized definition of “specially designed” that would apply to items on both the Commerce Control List (CCL) and U.S. Munitions List (USML).  The definition represents a major step in the functional merger of the two lists.  Once implemented, it should ease the administrative burden of U.S. export compliance on companies whose work touches both areas and clarify the status of a large number of items.  One thing it will not do (and which may never be done) is remove ambiguity from the lists altogether.…
Continue Reading All Together Now: A New Joint Definition of “Specially Designed”

By: David S. Gallacher

2011 was a banner year for U.S. export control laws. The Obama administration has vowed to streamline and reform the bloated U.S. export control system – promising to build “higher walls” around a narrower universe of goods and technologies requiring export licenses. Following is a summary of ten of the key reforms to U.S. export laws that took place (or were proposed) in 2011.
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Continue Reading 2011 Year In Review: Export Controls and Promised Reforms