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: Reid Whitten

On June 15, the European Union put into effect some 271 changes to its dual-use export control regulations.  The changes represent an update of the entire European export regime to incorporate numerous changes made in accordance with international agreements reached in the past few years.
Continue Reading ALERT – Changes Coming to Europe’s Dual-Use Export Regulations

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: Thad McBride and Cheryl Palmeri

As part of the Obama Administration’s Export Control Reform Initiative, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has recently revised the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding a new Export Classification Control Number (ECCN) series to the Commerce Control List (CCL).  The newly created ECCN series 0Y521 is a temporary holding classification for items that are subject to the EAR but are not yet identified in an existing ECCN.
Continue Reading BIS Creates a Temporary Holding Classification Number on the CCL

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.

Continue Reading 2011 Year In Review: Export Controls and Promised Reforms