Overview
On June 17, 2015, the US State Department, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and US Commerce Department, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued proposed rules that would transition certain items from control under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to control under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Specifically, DDTC and BIS propose transitioning certain items currently controlled under US Munitions List (USML) Categories XIV (Toxicological Agents, Including Chemical Agents, Biological Agents, and Associated Equipment) and XVIII (Directed Energy Weapons) to control under the EAR. Specifically, the affected Category XIV articles consist primarily of dissemination, detection, and protection equipment and would be controlled under new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) 1A607, 1B607, 1C607, 1D607, and 1E607. The affected Category XVIII articles consist primarily of tooling, test models, and production, test, and evaluation equipment, and would be controlled under new ECCNs 6B619, 6D619 and 6E619.
The agencies issued the proposed rules pursuant to the President’s Export Control Reform (ECR) initiative. DDTC and BIS will accept comments regarding the proposed rules until August 17, 2015.
We will continue to monitor developments related to the implementation of ECR.