SCB Training Center

DDTC now posts Commodity Jurisdiction Final Determinations

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:56:19 +0000

The U.S. Government uses the Commodity Jurisdiction procedure to determine whether an item is subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) or the International Traffic In Arms Regulations (ITAR).

The U.S. Government uses the Commodity Jurisdiction procedure to determine whether an item is subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) or the International Traffic In Arms (ITAR). The results are now being reported on the DDTC website. This link is a good source for those needing to review what other determinations have been requested.

An ITAR Record Keeping Procedure

admin — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:03:20 +0000

§122.5 states the requirements for registrants to maintain records. Quality management system developers would be doing their organizations a big favor if they read and understood this requirement, especially where the term “related documents” is used.

Most ISO quality manuals fail to capture and list all of the required documents needed to satisfy the ITAR.
There are over 50 occurrences of the word “records” and/or “recordkeeping” in the ITAR §120-130. The following is a sample of the ITAR records that should be maintained for a minimum of five years of the date of the transaction:

Contracts and Quotes
Customer Questionnaire (End Use and End User Statements)
Shipping and Receiving Documents (i.e., Airway bill, Bill of lading, Commercial invoices, etc.)
Certificates of Conformance/Test Reports/Consultation Reports & White Papers
Specifications and drawings
Long Term Agreements, TAAs and DSP Applications
Any DDTC Correspondence
Customer correspondence (Paper and Electronic)
Denied Party Screening Results
Personnel ITAR Training Records
Visitor Records
Documented approvals by the Empowered Official, Chair Export Compliance Council for all export control documents and actions (i.e., Emails, Memorandums, etc.)

ISO and the ITAR, What Management Reps Need To Know

admin — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:01:59 +0000

There are thousands of registered ISO organizations that have undergone the pain of a third-party audit, providing evidence of effective implemented processes and procedures to meet the needs of their customers.

The good news is that many of these same organizations are currently registered with the Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) as a manufacturer, broker and/or exporter of USML items. The bad news is that when it comes to providing evidence of compliance to the ITAR, many ISO and/or AS9100 registered organizations fail miserably. Consider the following question I posed during a recent ITAR assessment: When interviewing a shipping manager, I asked if there were any export procedure requirements for international shipping documents pertaining to USML items, and I received a blank stare. I learned that there was no documented process to assure that the §123.9(b) is followed. The exporter should be able to demonstrate using export clearance procedures requiring that (at a minimum) the Bill of Lading contains the following: “These commodities are authorized by the U.S. Government for export only to [country of ultimate destination] for use by [end user]. They may not be transferred, transshipped on a non-continuous voyage, or otherwise be disposed of in any other country, either in their original form or after being incorporated into other end items, without the prior written approval of the U.S. Department of State.”

It doesnʼt get any better when you ask if the personnel in charge of the ISO Quality Management System have ever received in-depth training on the ITAR and if the regulations were considered when drafting the “Quality Manual and Procedures.” Itʼs time for the compliance officers and empowered officials to start interfacing with the quality guys so that good companies donʼt inadvertently participate in an illegal transaction.

A Reasonable Step Toward Export Controls Reform

admin — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:01:36 +0000

U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in May commented on Export Controls Reform.

SCB Training Center supports her comments and common sense-approach in suggesting that generic parts such as rivets, wire and bolts be removed from control.

Most organizations understand that compliance to the ITAR is required for national security, so removing these minor items from control is a reasonable approach that continues to protect the U.S. while helping those smaller organizations struggling to comply.

Consider the scenario of a small, micro-size company (working on very small margins) that wants to bid a job from a Tier-2 customer to machine some fasteners. Assuring compliance adds enough “cost” to force the company to no-bid. Removing these items positively affects the entire supply chain, from the prime to the special process houses, testing labs, all the way down to the smallest manufacturers. When we consider the potential for creating more jobs, and for keeping jobs here in the U.S., this proposed step is applauded.