	Overview of the U.S. Export Control System

The United States restricts the export of defense articles; dual-use goods and technology; certain nuclear materials and technology; and items that would assist in the development of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons or the missile technology used to deliver them. In addition, U.S. export controls are used to restrict exports to certain countries on which the United States imposes economic sanctions, such as Cuba, Iran, and Syria. Various aspects of the U.S. export control system have long been criticized by exporters, nonproliferation advocates, allies, and other stakeholders as being too restrictive, insufficiently restrictive, cumbersome, obsolete, inefficient, or any combination of these descriptions. On August 13, 2009, President Barack Obama announced the launch of a comprehensive review of the U.S. export control system; then-Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced key elements of the Administration's agenda for reform in an April 2010 speech, with additional elaborations in subsequent months. Former Secretary Gates proposed a four-pronged approach that would establish
a single export control licensing agency for both dual-use, munitions and exports licensed to embargoed destinations; a unified control list; a single enforcement coordination agency; and a single integrated information technology system, which would include a single database of sanctioned and denied parties. The Dual-Use System

			Export Controls Act of 2018

The Export Controls Act of 2018 (ECA; P.L. 83-703), as amended, as well as from the ECA and the AECA. Controls on nuclear exports are divided among several agencies, based on the product or service being exported. Enforcement of U.S. In conjunction with the single IT system, the Obama Administration developed a single license application form. Basic Export Control Characteristics
Appendix B. Dual-Use Export Licensing Process
Appendix C. List of Acronyms
AECA—Arms Export Control Act
AES—Automated Export System
BIS—Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce
CBP—Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security
CCL—Commerce Control List
CML—Commerce Munitions List
CPI—Counter-Proliferation Investigations
DCIS—Defense Criminal Investigation Service
DDTC—Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Department of State
DHS—Department of Homeland Security
DOJ—Department of Justice
DTSA—Defense Technology Security Administration
EAA—Export Administration Act
EAR—Export Administration Regulations
ECCN—Export Control Classification Number
EECC—Export Enforcement Coordination Center
EEB—Economic, Energy, and Business Bureau, Department of State
FP—Foreign Policy Controls
GAO—Governmental Accountability Office
IEEPA—International Emergency Economic Powers Act
ICE—Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, Department of Homeland Security
ISN—International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau, Department of State
ITA—International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce
ITAR—International Traffic in Arms Regulations
MTCR—Missile Technology Control Regime
NRC—Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NS—National Security Controls
NSG—Nuclear Suppliers Group
OEE—Office of Export Enforcement
ODTC—Office of Defense Trade Compliance, DDTC
OFAC—Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury
SI—Significant Items Controls
SL—Surreptitious Listening Controls
SS—Short Supply Controls
STA—Strategic Trade Authorization
USML—U.S.
Difficulty with striking an appropriate balance between national security and export competitiveness has made the subject of export controls controversial for decades. Through the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the Export Controls Act of 2018 (ECA), and other authorities, the United States restricts the export of defense articles; dual-use goods and technology; certain nuclear materials and technology; and items that would assist in the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons or the missile technology used to deliver them. U.S. export controls are also used to restrict exports to certain countries on which the United States imposes economic sanctions. The ECA legislates dual-use controls.
The U.S. export control system is diffused among several different licensing and enforcement agencies. Exports of dual-use goods and technologies—as well as some military items—are licensed by the Department of Commerce, munitions are licensed by the Department of State, and restrictions on exports based on U.S. sanctions are administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Administrative enforcement of export controls is conducted by these agencies, while criminal penalties are issued by units of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.
Aspects of the U.S. export control system have long been criticized by exporters, nonproliferation advocates, allies, and other stakeholders as being too rigorous, insufficiently rigorous, cumbersome, obsolete, inefficient, or combinations of these descriptions. In August 2009, the Barack Obama Administration launched a comprehensive review of the U.S. export control system. In April 2010, then-Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates proposed an outline of a new system based on four singularities
a single export control licensing agency for dual-use, munitions exports, and Treasury-administered embargoes, a unified control list, a single primary enforcement coordination agency, and a single integrated information technology (IT) system.
The rationalization of the two control lists was the Obama Administration's focus. The Administration made no specific proposals concerning the single licensing agency, although the Administration implemented some elements of a future single system, such as a consolidated screening list and harmonization of certain licensing policies.