The  U.S. government’s control over the export of defense and dual-use items is  primarily divided between two departments—State and Commerce,  respectively (see table 1)—with support for enforcement activities  primarily from Commerce, through its Bureau of Industry and Security’s  Office of Export Enforcement (OEE); Department of Homeland Security,  through its Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and  Customs Enforcement (ICE); and Justice, through the FBI and the U.S. Export Control Enforcement Is Complex, Involving Varying Roles, Responsibilities, and Authorities among Multiple Agencies

Enforcing U.S. export control laws and regulations is inherently complex. Multiple agencies are involved in enforcement and carry out various  activities, including inspecting shipments, investigating potential export  control violations, and taking punitive actions that can be criminal or  administrative against violators of export control laws and regulations. Enforcement Authorities Are Granted through Various Laws and Regulations

Authorities for export control enforcement are provided through a  complex set of laws and regulations. Agencies have sometimes not agreed on how to proceed on cases,  particularly those involving foreign counterintelligence. Agencies Faced with Balancing Multiple Priorities and Leveraging Finite Human Resources

Each enforcement agency’s priorities—and the resources allocated to  those priorities—are influenced by the mission of the department in which  the agency resides. While Justice and the other  enforcement agencies have databases to capture information relating to  their own export enforcement activities (see table 3), outcomes of  criminal cases are not systematically shared with State and Commerce. State and Commerce officials stated that information on the outcomes of  criminal cases, including indictments and convictions, is important to the  export licensing process, particularly since indicted or convicted  exporters may be denied from participating in the process. Information on criminal export control  prosecution outcomes could help inform the export control process by  providing a complete picture of the individual or company seeking an  export license or trends in illegal export activities. Recommendations for Executive Action

To enhance coordination in the current system, we recommend that the  Secretary of Commerce direct the Under Secretary for Industry and  Security, the Secretary of Homeland Security direct the Assistant  Secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs  Enforcement, and the Attorney General direct the Director of the FBI in  conjunction with the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the National  Security Division to take the following two actions:    establish a task force to evaluate options to improve coordination and  cooperation among export enforcement investigative agencies, such as  creating new or updating existing operating agreements between and  among these agencies, identifying and replicating best practices for  routinely collaborating on or leading investigations, and establishing a  mechanism for clarifying roles and responsibilities for individual  export control cases involving foreign counterintelligence, and   report the status of task force actions to Congress. Our evidence indicates that  coordination is a challenge given that three agencies with differing  approaches have concurrent jurisdiction to investigate potential violations  of export control laws. To assess whether information on criminal enforcement outcomes is  provided to export control agencies, we identified export control  enforcement information maintained at the various agencies, such as  criminal convictions and indictments for violations of export control laws.
Why GAO Did This Study

Each year, billions of dollars in dual-use items--items that have both commercial and military applications--as well as defense items are exported from the United States. To protect U.S. interests, the U.S. government controls the export of these items. A key function in the U.S. export control system is enforcement, which aims to prevent or deter the illegal export of controlled items. This report describes the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of export control enforcement agencies, identifies the challenges these agencies face, and determines if information on enforcement outcomes is provided to the export control agencies. GAO's findings are based on an examination of statutes, interagency agreements, and procedures; interviews with enforcement officials at selected field locations and headquarters; and an assessment of enforcement information.

What GAO Found

The enforcement of export control laws and regulations is inherently complex, involving multiple agencies with varying roles, responsibilities, and authorities. The agencies within the Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, Justice, and State that are responsible for export control enforcement conduct a variety of activities, including inspecting items to be exported, investigating potential export control violations, and pursuing and imposing appropriate penalties and fines against violators. These agencies' enforcement authorities are granted through a complex set of laws and regulations, which give concurrent jurisdiction to multiple agencies to conduct investigations. Enforcement agencies face several challenges in enforcing export control laws and regulations. For example, agencies have had difficulty coordinating investigations and agreeing on how to proceed on cases. Coordination and cooperation often hinge on the relationships individual investigators across agencies have developed. Other challenges include obtaining timely and complete information to determine whether violations have occurred and enforcement actions should be pursued, and the difficulty in balancing multiple priorities and leveraging finite human resources. Each enforcement agency has a database to capture information on its enforcement activities. However, outcomes of criminal cases are not systematically shared with State and Commerce, the principal export control agencies. State and Commerce may deny license applications or export privileges of indicted or convicted export violators. Without information on the outcomes of criminal cases, export control agencies cannot gain a complete picture of an individual or a company seeking export licenses or discover trends in illegal export activities. This report is a publicly releasable version of a law enforcement sensitive report we issued on November 15, 2006. Therefore, some examples that involved law enforcement techniques or methods and that support our findings have been removed from this version.