Are you an U.S. export manager? Then you know the importance of compliance and no doubt have procedures in place to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. You know what to do if you’re shipping products abroad: You review your checklist, you establish your role as the U.S. Principal Party in Interest and you file the Electronic Export Information (EEI) in the Automated Export System (AES).

Sounds simple enough. But you may hit a snag filing the EEI when you get to the license information section. The reason: You may not know if you need an export license. To find out, you may need to answer some questions like:  

• What agency has jurisdiction over my export?
• How can I find out if my product is licensed?
• Do licenses only apply to products?
• What about shipments to certain countries?
• Do exports to certain foreign parties require a license?

What is an export license?

To make sure we’re on the same page, let’s define what an export license is. According to the Federal Trade Regulations, an export license is “a controlling agency document authorizing export of particular goods in specific quantities or values to a particular destination.”

Translation: You can’t ship certain exports without a license. The problem is it’s not always clear which ones.  

For example, you usually don’t need a license to ship fresh apples abroad. But all bets are off if you’re exporting them to a sanctioned country like Syria or North Korea. In that case, you need to do some digging to find out.

Where do I go to find out if my export requires a license?

The first thing you need to do is identify the agency with jurisdiction over your product or destination. Once you do that, contact the agency to see if you need an export license to ship your apples or other items and you should be set.

What agencies have authority over export transactions?

Here are some government agencies that control certain export transactions. Keep in mind this isn’t the whole list, but it’s a good starting point.

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)  

This U.S. Department of Commerce agency is responsible for regulating the export of dual-use (commercial and military) and less sensitive military goods and technologies, and enforcing export controls, anti-boycott and public safety laws. BIS’s goal is to advance U.S. national security, foreign policy and economic objectives by ensuring an effective export control and treaty compliance system and promoting continued U.S. strategic technology leadership.

Office of Foreign Assets Control

This U.S. Department of the Treasury agency administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions on targeted foreign countries, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, and those engaged in activities related to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other threats.

State Department/Directorate of Defense Trade Controls

This U.S. Department of State agency is responsible for ensuring that commercial export of defense articles and services advance U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives. It also oversees the U.S. Munitions List, which is a list of articles, services and related technology designated as defense and space-related by the U.S. government.

For more information, visit the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) website. For assistance using the AES, call the AES Direct Trade Data Collection Branch at 1-800-549-0595, option 1, or email us at EMD.askaes@census.gov. For guidance on Foreign Trade Regulations, call the Trade Regulations Branch at 1-800-549-0595, option 3, or email us at EMD.AskRegs@census.gov. Contact these licensing agencies for any questions regarding specific license details or issues.

The U.S. Census Bureau oversees the FTR, which sets forth the roles and responsibilities for parties in export transactions. Our role in the export process is to collect data for statistical purposes and to compile monthly trade statistics on imports and exports, published as the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services Report. We also work closely with enforcement and licensing agencies that have enforcement authority and sometimes require additional scrutiny for certain products, end use, and destinations for national security and foreign policy purposes.