If an item is covered by the CCL or USML, and your organization cannot get a license, exception, or exemption, you will be unable to legally export said item.

In the United States, there are three primary U.S. government bodies that regulate exports:

Additionally, other countries and international organizations, such as the European Union, have their own departments enforcing export controls aligned with their policies and goals.

If an item falls under the EAR or ITAR, a license is needed in order to export. Licenses are limited by time, value, or number of exports, and must be renewed upon expiry.

For items under the EAR, there are multiple categories of license exceptions. Should your organization’s goods qualify for these, you may not need an export license. The exceptions apply to limited cases, including public domain information, fundamental research, and educational information. If the items are on the CCL, and designated EAR99 (see below), they may not require a license unless they are being exported to an embargoed country or a restricted party.

For items on the USML, there are countries that may be exempt from needing licenses. Broad USML exemptions are largely blocked by the United States government in consideration of national security. However, there have been exemptions made for scientific research, and smaller scale exemptions arising from treaties in the past.

The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is enforced by the United States government via the United States Munitions List (USML). Items on the USML are defense and military-related goods and technology, and require a license or an exemption in order to be lawfully exported.

The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) are administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). The EAR controls goods and technology that have commercial applications, but may also have military uses (i.e., dual use goods). Technology and goods are controlled by the EAR for a variety of reasons, including anti-terrorism, national security, foreign policy, and nuclear proliferation. These goods similarly require licenses, or exceptions, to be lawfully exported.

Each export control body has its own system of classification for exports. In the U.S., for example, the BIS uses ECCNs, ITAR uses USML, and additionally, the United States Census Bureau maintains Schedule B classification codes for exporting goods out of the U.S. Other countries around the world have their own classification systems that organizations should be mindful of and adhere to where necessary.

There are also Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes (HTS/HS) which are used by most countries throughout the world to classify imported products.

Organizations engaging in international trade and exports are responsible for complying with export regulations and controls. Companies are still subject to export controls and the laws governing them regardless of their awareness of them.

Having a solution in place that assists organizations with helping to determine export classifications, as well as managing licenses, where required, is a good step in the direction towards being export compliant.

As detailed above, export compliance is comprised of a multifaceted and broad set of responsibilities. Organizations looking to get started on their compliance journey should typically look at starting with screening the parties with whom they do business. Screening should then be integrated into a larger compliance process that also includes classification of items and technologies (the latter to prevent deemed export violations from occurring).

Documents pertaining to export compliance should be also maintained, filed, and archived properly. This helps to ensure proper recordkeeping that proves due diligence, as proving your compliance is just as important as the act of complying in the case of a government audit.

While these activities can be performed manually, such as visiting government websites to perform denied party, and sanctioned and embargoed country screening, as well as searching for the appropriate classification codes, and the like, these can be time consuming and complex. This type of process also comes with a high probability for error and potentially erroneous recordkeeping. Export compliance solutions, such as the ones offered by Descartes Visual Compliance, save time and resources, reduce the scope for error, increase the comprehensiveness of a compliance program, and are generally an organization’s best bet at getting—and staying—compliant.

Yes. All organizations doing business in the United States must adhere to U.S. regulations regarding export compliance. Organizations doing business in other countries may be subject to additional export regulations based on those countries’ jurisdictions as well.

If an organization has subsidiaries and offices abroad, sending them items may count as exports, and be subject to the relevant export controls. This also includes the transfer of information, which may count as a “deemed export.”