Export Control Reform November 2016 Update

Export Control Reform | November 2016 Update

Export Control Reform (ECR) wasidentified as a top priority for the federal government in President Obama’s State of the Union Address back in January 2010. ECR is a government-wide initiative to simplify the federal export control regulations. Since that time, there have been a series of efforts undertaken by the federal government to clarify and consolidate the vast regulations governing export compliance within the United States.

The primary goal of the ECR initiative is to “enhance U.S. national and economic security, facilitate compliance with export controls, update the controls, and further the goal of reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens on U.S. exporters.”

In early June, 2016, changes to the export control regulations were announced by both the Bureau of Industry & Security, Department of Commerce (BIS), and the State Department (State). Most notable for the academic research community is that neither BIS nor State chose to tighten the restrictions afforded by the “fundamental research exclusion,” (FRE) which had been a source of concern for U.S. universities (see e.g. “U.S. targets spying threat on campus with proposed research clampdown,” at However, more recently, in October 2016, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations clause 252.204-7000, which addresses the application of the FRE to Department of Defense awards, was revised to include reference to “covered defense information,”[1] removing from the exclusion any project involving such information. See

Additional changes to these sets of regulations provided updates to definitions, clarifications, and the movement of certain items from the International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) Munitions List to the BIS Commerce Control List. See for a summary of changes to the EAR and for a summary of changes to the ITAR. Along with its new rule, BIS also issued an FAQ (see link: These changes went into effect on September 1, 2016.

The federal government maintains a website which summarizes these ongoing changes. That website can be found here:

For questions regarding ECR, please contact Northwestern’s Office for Export Controls Compliance at (847) 467-4063 or by email at .

[1]“Covered defense information" means unclassified controlled technical information or other information, as described in the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Registry at category-list.html, that requires safeguarding or dissemination controls pursuant to and consistent with law, regulations, and Government-wide policies, and is—

(1) Marked or otherwise identified in the contract, task order, or delivery order and provided to the contractor by or on behalf of DoD in support of the performance of the contract; or

(2) Collected, developed, received, transmitted, used, or stored by or on behalf of the contractor in support of the performance of the contract.