Introduction

What is export compliance?

‍Governments enforce strict laws and regulations relating to the export of controlled goods, technologies and services for strategic trade. The UN defines strategic trade controls (STC) as the “control of the export, import, international transit, and transshipment of certain commodities to certain recipients or for certain end-uses/end-users and in certain circumstances.”

The commodities, technologies and services may be military or dual use, intended for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or conventional military weapons development. The destinations may include sanctioned locations such as Iran, North Korea or Russia and/or sanctioned individuals such as Russian oligarchs or narcotics traffickers.

STCs are the critical component in global counter-proliferation efforts and companies need to have an effective understanding of regulatory controls to minimize their risk for criminal violations, civil penalties and reputational damage.

The trade community - whether they are the manufacturers, shippers, consignees or other entities involved in the export supply chain - should employ “reasonable care” in reviewing their transactions to avoid compliance problems.

Why is Export Compliance important?

The following summarizes some of the reasons why export compliance is important:

1. National Security: Preventing transactions with denied parties or watch listed entities that pose a threat to national and global security. Enforcement programs prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and destabilizing accumulation of conventional weapons and related material.
2. Economic Security: Protecting national trade competitiveness and supporting foreign policy objectives while maintaining innovation in strategic trade for advanced technologies.
3. Global Security: Implementing effective export controls supports national contributions to global security – a safe international supply chain is only as effective as its weakest link and malign actors exploit those weak leaks.

Regulations apply based on two core areas:

1. The entity/person, organization or destination that is receiving the goods.
2. The type of commodity, technology or service that is being exported.

What rules do you need to adhere to?

‍There are multiple rules and regulations that need to be complied with and failure to do so can lead to severe criminal penalties and civil fines. Examples of some include: Export Control Reform Act 2018 - 50 USC 4801-4852, Arms Export Control Act - 22 USC 2778 , 18 U.S.C. 554, Sanctions Statutes and more.

For a full list of regulations and statutes relevant to companies involved in the trade and export space, please log into our app to get access to the full Playbook, as well as a mapping for how each BITE module helps you remain compliant with specific regulations.

The BITE Playbook, available in the BITE app, helps you navigate these regulatory requirements and quickly understand which agencies enforce what regulations associated with your specific transaction.

BITE Data: our BITE Playbook maps directly to watchlists, Harmonized Schedule codes and commodity screening lists, allowing you to quickly check a commodity or person against the extensive filters in our platform.

Training Modules: BITE Export Compliance Training - gets access to concise, easy-to-follow tutorials and guidelines

BITE Data Mapping

Resource Links

Department of Commerce, Export control assistance: https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/decision-tree-tools

Department of Commerce Training programs: https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/compliance-a-training

How to set up an Export Control Program: https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/documents/pdfs/1641-ecp/file  

An example of fines that have occurred for export violations: https://ofac.treasury.gov/civil-penalties-and-enforcement-information

Sign up for the app here: https://app.bitedata.io/ or send us an email to set up a demo: bite@nuborders.com