Source: U.S. Department of State-DDTC

As part of the President’s Export Control Reform effort, the Department of State amends the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) by revising Category XII (fire control, laser, imaging, and guidance equipment) of the U.S. Munitions List (USML) to remove certain items from control on the USML and to describe more precisely the articles continuing to warrant control on the USML. The Department also amends USML Categories VIII, XIII, and XV to reflect that items previously described in those Categories are now controlled under the revised Category XII or Commerce Control List. Further, the Department revises USML Category XI to move items to the CCL as a result of changes to related control in USML Category XII. This rule is effective on December 31, 2016.

The revision of USML Category XII (RIN 1400–AD32) was first published as a proposed rule on May 5, 2015, for public comment (see 80 FR 25821) (1st proposed rule). The comment period ended July 6, 2015. One hundred twenty parties submitted public comments, which were reviewed and considered by the Department and other agencies. A second proposed rule was published on February 19, 2016 for public comment (see 81 FR 8438) (2nd proposed rule). The comment period ended on April 4, 2016. Thirty-eight parties submitted public comments, which were reviewed and considered by the Department and other agencies. The discussion below, regarding items added or modified to Category XII, refers to text proposed in one or both of the two proposed rules, unless otherwise stated. The majority of the public comments stated that the proposed controls in USML Category XII drew a clear line between the USML and CCL for items that are exclusively military vice those that have commercial and civil applications. Individual commenters addressed specific issues with some of the proposed provisions, which are described below.

Click here to read the Federal Register.

No responses yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.