U.S. BIS amends EAR to ease license requirements for Australia and UK
Further aligns the treatment of Australia, Canada, and the UK under the Export Administration Regulations
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce today released an interim final rule* amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to remove license requirements, expand the availability of license exceptions, and reduce the scope of end-use and end-user-based license requirements for exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) to or within Australia and the UK. This is to support technological innovation and the goals of the AUKUS Trilateral Security Partnership.
The changes will align the treatment of Australia and the UK under the EAR with Canada, which has been possible due to the broadened definition of the National Technology and Industrial Base (NTIB) in 2017 to include the UK and Australia.
The rule includes six primary export control policy changes and several minor conforming changes to further align the treatment of Australia, Canada, and the UK under the EAR.
- The first three changes involve the removal of list-based license requirements for exports, reexports, and transfers to Australia and the UK.
- The fourth change removes license requirements for military commodities described under ECCN 0A919 to Australia and the UK.
- The fifth change removes military end-use and end-user-based license requirements for certain cameras, systems, or related components.
- The final change revises the treatment of significant items (SI) controlled under ECCN 9E003.a.1 through a.6, a.8, .h, .i, and .l, and related controls to allow these items to be exported, reexported, or transferred to or within Australia and the UK without a license.
* BIS on May 6, 2024, issued a correcting amendment that revises a footnote included in the interim final rule to add greater specificity for the Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCN) referenced.