When shipping connectors overseas, it’s important to know about the concept of export control.
The federal government controls exports of technology as a way of promoting national security and foreign policy goals.
In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the chief things you should know about export controlled products in the connector industry.
What are the export control laws?
In the United States, rules governing export control include the Export Administration Regulations established under the U.S. Department of Commerce, the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) set by the Department of State, and embargo controls administered by the Treasury.
If you’re operating in the United Kingdom, export controls are overseen by Export Control Organization.
What items or uses are covered by export controls?
Export control rules cover three categories:
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Defense articles – Anything designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for a military application, regardless of intended use.
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Defense services – Anything that involves assisting foreign persons in the design, development, engineering, manufacture, production, assembly, testing, repair, maintenance, modification, operation, demilitarization, destruction, processing or use of defense articles.
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Technical data – Information required for the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance or modification of defense articles – but not general scientific, mathematical, or engineering principles, public domain information, or basic marketing information.
How will I know if a product is export controlled?
PEI-Genesis will notify you if you’ve requested a product that is export controlled. These products are also identified on MyPEI with a red message box.
In the United States, the question of whether a product is export controlled is decided by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, a division of the U.S. State Department. In the UK, this job is handled by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strength (BEIS).
However, most manufactures can self-classify their products after reviewing International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) §§120.2, 120.3, and 120.4, which deal with commodity jurisdiction and ITAR §121.1 (the U.S. Munitions List or USML).
Our manufacturers will identify controlled items, and we have both electronic and procedural systems to inform you when you request one of these products.
What happens if I am shipping controlled products outside the U.S. or UK?
Controlled product orders are immediately sent to the “Export Hold” section of our ERP system and will not be shipped.
Controlled products that customers hope to ship outside the country are handled by special teams at our international sales office in Long Island, or at our European headquarters in Southampton, England.
We are registered with the U.S. State Department and with BEIS, and will attempt to secure an export license on your behalf.
To get a license, we will need authorizations and information about your product’s application and destination. This is required by the U.S. – or British – government.
Assuming we can secure a license, we’ll process your order. If we aren’t successful, we will notify you that the export request has been denied, and cancel your order. ITAR products leaving the country will be subject to export shipping fees.
If you request shipment of controlled products within the U.S. or United Kingdom, we will sell you the product and alert you that it’s ITAR/UK export-controlled. This will be noted in the quote, sales order acknowledgement, packing document and invoice.
We may also ask you to sign an export license agreement notification, to tell you that you will need an export license to ship the product outside the US or UK.
PEI-Genesis takes export control very seriously, and has a very thorough export compliance system in place. For more information, see our FAQ, or contact us today to learn more about how we can make sure you get the connectors you need.
