The Dropped Case
Avoid Export Violations By Determining If Your Technology Falls Under EAR’s CCL or ITAR’s USML
The case of Professor Xiaoxing Xi is…well…no longer a case. Charges against the university professor have been dropped by the U.S. Department of Justice. It turns out that the U.S. government did not do its due diligence in understanding the scientific background behind the information that they deemed to be sensitive. As described in this article, the proper scientific experts were not consulted. Despite the charges being dropped, the seriousness and impact of the whole ordeal is evident on this site.
This brings to mind one of the most important best practices that is relevant for both industry and higher education. Given the government requirements are based on specific scientific parameters and principles, it’s critical to engage the right technical experts in your organization (think: faculty, principle investigator, or lead engineer) to help assess if a technology is indeed described on the relevant control list. That goes for both the EAR’s Commerce Control List and the ITAR’s United States Munitions List. For the compliance team, it’s wise to become savvy in the basics behind the technology in question before initiating those discussions.
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Traliance provides export compliance consulting services to help research universities and technology companies comply with U.S export controls regulations.
