Friday, March 20, 2009

Department of Commerce – Bureau of Industry & Security

Last week we introduced the government agencies that regulate exports. This week and for the next few weeks, we will discuss one of the major agencies and the roles they play in the regulation of exports. This week’s spotlight is on the Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS).

As part of the Department of Commerce, the Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) has oversight for regulation of exports and issues of national security and technology. In addition to evaluating and issuing licenses for export and re-exports of goods and technology, the agency strives to protect the national security and stop proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Activities include enforcing export regulations, anti-boycott and public safety laws, providing ECCN assistance, determining commodity jurisdiction and issuing licenses for certain goods.

BIS is responsible for implementing, maintaining and enforcing the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The EAR regulates the export and re-export of most commercial items as well as certain activities of U.S. persons. The EAR also applies to “dual use” items, meaning that they have civil as well as military or strategic use, and are not primarily for weapons or military related use.

Note: BIS does not control all goods, services and technologies. Other government agencies such as the Department of State have authority over exports that do not fall under BIS regulation. We’ll discuss some of these other agencies in the coming weeks.

As part of its goal to improve the knowledge and compliance of the export community, the BIS provides an informative website, instructive publications, seminars/webinars and other resources. The BIS web site provides a wealth of information such as:

•Definitions of key terms: Export, Deemed Export, CCL, ECCN and more.
•General Prohibitions
•License determination and application
•Online seminars on export control basics, recordkeeping
•Compliance tools such as denied party, unverified and entities lists and red flag indicators
•Export Enforcement statistics

Click HERE to check out the BIS, one of the key government agencies responsible for regulating exports.

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