An article (subscription required) in the latest issue of Inside U.S. Trade describes an interview the publication held with a “senior administration official” on the White House’s proposed export control reforms. According to the official, an interagency agreement should occur shortly that will allow the agencies to move forward in implementing one export license application form for BIS, OFAC and DDTC and to paring down the various export control lists to one list of critical items and technologies.

Probably the most significant of the contemplated reforms is the paring down of the United States Munitions List to a “positive list” of items. Currently, the list has both positive listings of items that are controlled (e.g., firearms or the specific chemical agents listed in Category XIV) and indirect (dare I say “negative”?) listings which cover unspecified items with certain attributes, such as electronics “designed, modified or configured for military application.” This latter category of listings creates conflicting interpretations, confusion and uncertainty about which items require export licenses and which do not.

Other highlights of the interview included the following:

• The single IT system will be the Department of Defense’s IT system
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which licenses nuclear exports, will not be part of the single export agency.
• There will be common definitions of terms, including “U.S. Person” and “export.”
• The single list will be the United States Munitions List. Dual use items will be added to the list and the Commerce Control List will disappear

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