In a recently published Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,1 the Department of State proposes an
amendment to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations
("ITAR") provisions defining activities that are
not exports, re-exports, or retransfers. Such activities
that will not be exports, re-exports, or retransfers under
the proposed definition include (1) launching items into space, (2)
providing technical data to U.S. persons within the United States
or within a single country abroad, and (3) moving defense articles
between U.S. states, possessions, and territories. Importantly, the
proposed revisions will allow for the electronic storage and
transmission of unclassified technical data through foreign
communications infrastructure without requiring ITAR licensing when
the technical data is sufficiently secured to prevent access by
foreign persons. The proposed amendments also include the creation
of a definition for "access information" and the revision
of the "release" definition to include the improper
provision of access information to foreign persons.
The proposed amendment sets the stage for the Department of State
to create a rule similar to the Department of Commerce Export
Administration Regulations ("EAR") "encryption
carve-out," which was finalized on June 3, 2016. The export
community has anticipated a harmonization of the ITAR with the EAR
encryption rule. Torres Law has previously written about the EAR
carve-out, located here:
End-to-End Encryption and a New Understanding of Technology and
Software Export Controls. We will monitor these developments as
the proposed amendment moves through the federal rulemaking process
and provide updates as necessary.
Footnote
1 International Traffic in Arms Regulations: Activities Not Exports, Re-exports, or Transfers, Department of State, https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201904&RIN=1400-AE76 (last visited, Nov. 15, 2019).
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