Definitions
A nationwide system operational at all ports and for all methods of transportation through which export shipment data required by multiple agencies is filed electronically to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
An agency of the Department of Commerce responsible for implementing and enforcing the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which regulate the export and re-export of most commercial items.
The United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
A list of items under the export control jurisdiction of the Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce. The CCL is found in Supplement 1 to part 774 of the EAR.
The Commerce Control List is divided into ten categories: (0) Nuclear Materials, Facilities and Equipment, and Miscellaneous; (1) Materials, Chemicals, "Microorganisms," and Toxins; (2) Materials Processing; (3) Electronics Design, Development and Production; (4) Computers; (5) Telecommunications; (6) Sensors; (7) Navigation and Avionics; (8) Marine; (9) Propulsion Systems, Space Vehicles, and Related Equipment.
The ten categories of the Commerce Control List are divided into five (5) product groups, designated by the letters A through E: (A) Equipment, assemblies, and components; (B) Test, inspection, and production equipment; (C) Materials; (D) Software; and (E) Technology.
A commodity jurisdiction (CJ) request is used to determine whether an item or service is subject to the export licensing authority of the Department of Commerce or the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). A CJ determination will only identify the proper licensing authority for an item, and is not a license or approval to export.
As first coined in Executive Order 13556, and defined under 32 CFR § 2002.4, the term "Controlled Unclassified Information" (CUI) is information that is created, possessed, or is created or possessed on behalf of the U.S. Government, that requires certain safeguarding or dissemination controls. However, CUI does not include classified information or information a non-executive branch entity possesses and maintains in its own systems that did not come from, nor was created or possessed by or for an executive branch agency or an entity acting on an agency’s behalf.
NOTE: As there are over one-hundred (100) types of CUI it is important to make note of the fact that not all CUI is export controlled, but all “technical data” is CUI if CUI is identified in an underlying government contract.
Covered Defense Information (CDI) is a subset of CUI as identified under DFARS 252.204-7012 (48 CFR § 252.204-7012), which defines CDI as unclassified controlled technical information or other information, as described in the CUI Registry maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), that requires safeguarding or dissemination controls pursuant to and consistent with law, regulations, and Governmentwide policies. In addition, 252.204-7012 further provides that CDI must be: (1) marked or otherwise identified in the contract, task order, or delivery order and provided to the contractor by or on behalf of the Department of Defense 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.
A release of export-controlled technology or software source code to a Foreign Person in the U.S. A regulated export is thereby "deemed" to take place to the Foreign Person's home country or last country of citizenship. Export controlled technology is "released" for export either a) when it is made available to Foreign Persons for visual inspection; b) when technology is exchanged orally; and/or c) when technology is made available by practice or application under the guidance of persons with knowledge of the technology.
Any item or Technical Data designated on the U.S. Munitions List. This term includes Technical Data recorded or stored in any physical form, models, mockups, or other items that reveal Technical Data directly relating to items designated on the U.S. Munitions List. It also includes forgings, castings, and other unfinished products, such as extrusions and machined bodies, which have reached a stage in manufacturing where they are clearly identifiable by mechanical properties, material composition, geometry, or function as Defense Articles. It does not include basic marketing information on function or purpose or general system descriptions.
The furnishing of assistance (including training) anywhere (inside the United States or abroad) to foreign nationals in connection with the design, development, engineering, manufacture, production, assembly, testing, repair, maintenance, modification, operation, demilitarization, destruction, processing, or use of defense articles, and the furnishing of any controlled “technical data” to foreign nationals anywhere.
A list, referenced in Supplement No. 2 to part 764 of the EAR, of specific persons that have been denied export privileges, in whole or in part.
The office at the Department of State, formerly known as the Office of Defense Trade Controls and before that as the Office of Munitions Control, is responsible for reviewing applications to export and re-export items on the U.S. Munitions List.
Items that have both commercial and military or proliferation applications are “dual-use” items. While this term is used informally to describe items that are subject to the EAR, purely commercial items and certain munitions items listed on the Wassenaar Arrangement Munitions List (WAML) or the Missile Technology Control Regime Annex are also subject to the EAR.
A designation given to those items that are not enumerated under the ITAR's USML nor the EAR's CCL but are nonetheless subject to the EAR's regulations. Such a designation is reserved for low-risk items and technologies, which receive minor restraints on its control and dissemination. In most instances, a license will not be required for EAR99 items or technologies, unless it will be exported to an embargoed or sanction country, to a restricted party, or its intended end-use is prohibited.
Information that is commonly taught in catalog-courses at an accredited U.S. institution of higher-education, or its related teaching laboratories, is not subject to export control laws and regulations. The Educational Information Exclusion does not apply to proprietary information and certain information deemed classified or sensitive by the federal government.
Maintaining "effective control" requires one to either retain physical possession of the item or secure the item in such an environment as a hotel safe, a bonded warehouse, or a locked or guarded exhibition facility. Retention of effective control over an item is a condition of certain temporary exports and re-exports.
Computer programs containing an encryption source code that has been compiled into a form of code that can be directly executed by a computer to perform an encryption function.
A precise set of operating instructions to a computer that, when compiled, allows for the execution of an encryption function on a computer.
“End-use” refers to a detailed description of how the ultimate consignee intends to use the commodities being exported.
“End-user” refers to the person that receives and ultimately uses the exported or re-exported items.
An actual shipment or transmission out of the U.S., including the sending or taking of an item out of the U.S., in any manner; releasing or otherwise transferring “technology” or source code (but not object code) to a foreign person in the U.S. (a “deemed export”); and, any release in the U.S. of “technology” or source code to a foreign person is a deemed export to the foreign person's most recent country of citizenship or permanent residency. The export of an item that will transit through a country or countries to a destination identified in the EAR is deemed to be an export to that destination.
The Export Administration Regulations (EAR), Title 15, sections 730-774 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), means the regulations promulgated and implemented by the Department of Commerce that regulate the export of goods and related technology identified on the Commerce Control List (CCL), Title 15 CFR 774, Supp. 1. Goods and technology on the CCL are not inherently military in nature; they are primarily and inherently commercial or potentially commercial in nature.
A set of laws, regulations, and policies that govern the export of sensitive items to countries, entities, and individuals.
This number identifies items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) that are subject to the export licensing authority of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).
An Export License issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) authorizes an export, re-export, or other regulated activity. The term license does not include authority represented by a License Exception.
An Export License Exception as described in part 740 of the EAR allows you to export or re-export, under stated conditions, items subject to the EAR that otherwise would require a license. Unless otherwise indicated, these License Exceptions are not applicable to exports under the licensing jurisdiction of agencies other than the Department of Commerce.
Any person who is not a citizen or Permanent Resident Alien of the U.S. Examples of foreign persons are students, post-doctoral scholars, or research staff in F-1 or J-1 status, and Florida Atlantic University foreign national employees in H-1B status. A foreign person also means any foreign corporation, business association, partnership, or any other entity or group that is not incorporated to do business in the United States.
Basic or applied research in science and engineering where the resulting information is published and shared broadly within the scientific community. Fundamental Research is distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.
Basic and applied research in science and engineering performed at accredited institutions of higher education in the U.S., the results of which are ordinarily published and shared broadly within the scientific community, are excluded from export control laws and regulations. The Fundamental Research Exclusion is only applicable to the export or release of research data and information, not the export of tangible items.
Research no longer qualifies under the Fundamental Research Exclusion when there are publication restrictions beyond pre-publication review to prevent inadvertent disclosures of proprietary information. In addition, the Fundamental Research Exclusion is no longer applicable when Foreign Persons are prohibited from participating in the research.
NOTE: The Fundamental Research Exclusion does not apply to International Traffic In Arms Regulations (ITAR) regulated technologies, technical data, or equipment. In addition, certain “Strong Encryption” software and source code regulated under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) does not qualify for the Fundamental Research Exclusion.
Items, information, and software “specifically designed, developed, configured adapted, or modified” for a military, spacecraft, or intelligence application. These items, information, and software are identified on the ITAR's U.S. Munitions List. ITAR-listed items that are not the tangible products of university fundamental research generally require a license for access and use by all foreign persons.
The designation that is given to commodities and related technology that do not require a license to be exported out of the United States.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is an office under the U.S. Department of the Treasury. OFAC is responsible for enforcing the foreign policy of the U.S. government including all trade sanctions, embargoes, and financial interactions with prohibited or blocked individuals or entities.
Information that is published and that is generally accessible or available to the public: (1) through sales at newsstands and bookstores; (2) through subscriptions which are available without restriction to any individual who desires to obtain or purchase the published information; (3) through second class mailing privileges granted by the U.S. government; (4) at libraries open to the public or from which the public can obtain documents; (5) through patents available at any patent office; (6) through unlimited distribution at a conference, meeting, seminar, trade show, or exhibition, generally accessible to the public, in the United States; (7) through public release (i.e., unlimited distribution) in any form (e.g., not necessarily in published form) after approval by the cognizant U.S. government department or agency; and (8) through fundamental research in science and engineering at accredited institutions of higher learning in the U.S. where the resulting information is ordinarily published and shared broadly in the scientific community.
This term applies to technology and software that are already published or will be published; arise during or result from fundamental research; are educational; or are included in certain patent applications.
Reasons for Control are: Anti-Terrorism (AT), Chemical and Biological Weapons (CB), Chemical Weapons Convention (CW), Crime Control (CC), Encryption Items (EI), Firearms Convention (FC), Missile Technology (MT), National Security (NS), Nuclear Nonproliferation (NP), Regional Stability (RS), Short Supply (SS), Significant Items (SI), Surreptitious Listening (SL) and United Nations sanctions (UN). Items controlled within a particular ECCN may be controlled for more than one reason.
An actual shipment or transmission of controlled tangible items, software, or information from one foreign country to another foreign country. The export or re-export of controlled tangible items, software, or information that will transit through a country or countries, or will be unloaded in a country or countries for reloading and shipment to a new country, or are intended for re-export to the new country, are deemed to be exports to the new country.
“Restricted Parties” are individuals and entities with whom Florida Atlantic University and its employees may not export to or engage in controlled transactions. These include the Denied Persons List, Entity List, and Unverified List (Department of Commerce); the Debarred Parties Lists (Department of State); and the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (Department of the Treasury).
“Sanctioned Countries” are designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as having trade sanctions imposed by the United States for reasons of anti-terrorism, non-proliferation, narcotics trafficking, or other reasons. Sanctions vary among the countries.
“Specially Designated National” are persons who have been designated by the U.S. Government as being agents of certain sanctioned countries, terrorism sponsoring organizations, international narcotics traffickers, weapons proliferators or otherwise engaged in activities that threaten the security of the U.S.
The Department of State has determined that the following countries' governments have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism: Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria.
Strong Dual-Use Encryption, as addressed in Category 5 Part II of the Export Administration Regulation’s Commerce Control List at 5A002 (encryption hardware) and 5D002 (encryption software), is defined as:
- Employing a symmetric algorithm with a key length in excess of 56-bits;
- Employing an asymmetric algorithm based on:
- A factorization of integers in excess of 512 bits (i.e. RSA);
- Computation of discrete logarithms in a multiplicative group of a finite field of size greater than 512 bits (i.e. Diffie-Hellman over Z/pZ);
- Discrete logarithms in a group in excess of 112 bits (i.e. Diffie-Hellman over an elliptic curve);
- Designed or modified to perform dual-use cryptanalytic functions;
- Designed or modified to use quantum cryptography;
- Specially designed or modified to reduce the compromising emanations of information bearing signals beyond that necessary for health, safety or electromagnetic interference;
- Using cryptographic techniques to generate the spreading code for dual-use spread spectrum systems including the hopping code for frequency hopping systems;
- Using cryptographic techniques to generate channelizing codes, scrambling codes or network identification codes for systems using ultra-wideband modulation techniques;
- Using cryptography in communications cable systems designed or modified to detect surreptitious intrusion using mechanical, electrical or electronic means.
Strong dual-use encryption software is "NOT":
- Cryptographic code limited to authentication and digital signature including associated key management functions;
- Software using fixed data compression or coding techniques;
- Encryption/decryption code designed to protect libraries, design attributes or associated data for the design of semiconductor devices or integrated circuits
Technical assistance may take forms such as instruction, skills training, working knowledge, consulting services, and may also involve the transfer of technical data.
Information, which is required for the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance or modification of Defense Articles. This includes information in the form of blueprints, drawings, photographs, plans, instructions or documentation. The definition does not include information concerning general scientific, mathematical, or engineering principles commonly taught in schools, colleges, and universities, or information in the public domain. It also does not include basic marketing information on function or purpose or general system descriptions of defense articles.
Information necessary for the development, production, use, operation, installation, maintenance, repair, overhaul, or refurbishing of an export -controlled item, but not the good itself.
A formal document that is implemented for the purpose of maintaining the release and dissemination restrictions that apply to a particular research project. The TCP outlines the required procedures which the Principal Investigator is ultimately responsible for its adherence, which includes themselves as well as the project's personnel. Such procedures include trainings, physical security measures, information technology security measures, communication requirements, marking requirements, return or destruction of material requirements, among others. TCPs are audited on a routine basis to ensure compliance with its requirements by the PI and the project's personnel.
Articles, services and related technical data designated as defense articles and defense services pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act.
A citizen of United States, a lawful permanent resident alien of the U.S., (a Green Card holder), a refugee or someone here under protected political asylum or under amnesty. U.S. persons also include organizations and entities, such as universities, incorporated in the U.S. The general rule is that only U.S. persons are eligible to receive controlled items, software or information without first obtaining an export license from the appropriate agency unless a license exception or exclusion is available.