Robert Monjay

Robert Monjay

Speaking at the Defence Trade Controls Conference on 14 September 2015, Robert Monjay of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy has confirmed that the U.S. Government is seeking to conclude the publication of substantive changes to the ITAR and EAR by August 2016, two months ahead of the next U.S. presidential election. Mr. Monjay noted that as the U.S. nears the next presidential election, it will become increasingly difficult to publish proposed rulemaking and as such the U.S. State Department and Commerce Department will be seeing to finalize changes to the ITAR and EAR by the end of August 2016. To date, the ITAR has seen 15 of the USML’s 21 categories amended to reflect the State Department’s goal of relocating articles that are not considered to be the “crown jewels” of U.S. military technology to the EAR’s Commerce Control List (CCL). A further three categories have seen proposed rules published. That leaves only three categories to be examined and reorganized. Mr. Monjay did confirm that although it is expected that all substantive changes to the ITAR and EAR be concluded by August 2016, it is likely that further, more minor amendments will continue to happen over the course of the next several years. For more information about the progress of Export Control Reform efforts in the U.S. and how the reforms affect your business, please contact Eva Galfi on 0421 506 095.