Regulatory Information & Other Resources

Export Control Regulations and Penalties

Who Regulates Exports?

Several federal agencies have implemented regulations that govern exports of goods, information, and money. Federal law also prescribes criminal and economic penalties for non-compliance. The following agencies have jurisdiction over the export control regulations that are most likely to affect activities at UNL:

Export Administration Regulations

The Export Administration Regulations (EAR), 15 CFR 730-774, fall under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), an office of the Commerce Department. The EAR generally control the export of “dual-use” items and technologies—that is, items and technologies that are primarily commercial or civilian in nature, but also have or could easily be adapted to have military applications.

The EAR include the Commerce Control List (CCL), 15 CFR 774, Supplement 1, a comprehensive categorization of dual-use items by type that also specifies particular reasons for control. Every item is assigned an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN), a five-character alphanumeric code that identifies an item’s category and potential for military application.

The BIS also maintains lists of restricted parties, or people and organizations that U.S. persons and organizations are prohibited from exporting controlled items and information to.

International Traffic in Arms Regulations

The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR 120-130, are promulgated by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), an arm of the State Department. The ITAR control exports in three categories:

The ITAR include the United States Munitions List (USML), a categorized list of defense articles and related technical data.

The DDTC maintains its own list of restricted parties with whom US persons are not allowed to do business.

Foreign Assets Control Regulations

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), 31 CFR 500-599, within the U.S.Treasury Department regulates financial transactions between US persons and certain foreign persons, including international organizations and agencies of foreign governments. OFAC maintains a list of specially designated nationals;” people and companies that sponsor terrorism, narcotics trafficking, and other illegal activities. You must obtain special approval from OFAC before doing business with any specially designated national.

The United States government imposes comprehensive embargoes and other sanctions on certain countries. Some financial transactions with persons from those countries—including hiring and payments of honoraria—require special licenses or other approval by OFAC. When traveling in those countries, US persons may also need to obtain licenses prior to paying for goods and services. Contact the Export Control Staff with questions about traveling to these countries or making payments to people in or from these countries.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 10 CFR 110.8 and 110.9, is responsible for overseeing the export of special nuclear material and authorizing general licenses to export these materials in specified quantities, in certain forms and/or as contained in consumer products, to any country not listed in 10 CFR 110.28 as an embargoed destination. For restricted destinations listed in 10 CFR 110.29 there are additional restrictions on the use of the general license for certain commodities. NRC general export licenses also authorize exports of certain minor nuclear reactor components to designated eligible recipient countries. Criteria for NRC general export license authorizations are provided for the following:

Department of Energy

The Department of Energy (DoE) 10 CFR part 810, regulations implements section 57b.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA), as amended by section 302 of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Act of 1978 (NNPA). Part 810 controls the export of unclassified nuclear technology and assistance. It enables peaceful nuclear trade by helping to assure that nuclear technologies exported from the United States will not be used for non-peaceful purposes. Part 810 controls the export of nuclear technology and assistance by identifying activities that can be ‘‘generally authorized’’ by the Secretary, thereby requiring no further authorization under part 810. It also controls those activities that require ‘‘specific authorization’’ by the Secretary. Part 810 also delineates the process for applying for specific authorization from the Secretary and identifies the reporting requirements for activities subject to part 810.

Atomic Energy Act (AEA)

The Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1946 is the fundamental U.S. law on both civilian and military uses of nuclear material. The “Act” was developed following World War II, to determine how the United States would control and manage nuclear technology and to assure the proper management of source, special nuclear, and byproduct material, the AEA controls assistance to foreign atomic energy activities and unclassified nuclear technology. The statutes that amended the AEA, delegate the control of nuclear energy primarily to DOE, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for administering the AEA regulations which can be found in 10 CFR Part 810.

Appropriate approvals must be in place prior to engaging in DOE research that is regulated under the Atomic Energy Act. Please be sure to contact the Export Control Compliance Program before you consider involvement in DOE research that is regulated under the AEA.

In addition to the UNL International Travel requirements, UNL faculty, researchers and students participating in Tier 2, AEA regulated research are required to comply with the U.S. Department of Energy, Foreign Travel Management System, when planning international travel, this requirement is for both work related or personal travel.

(1)  The Foreign Travel Management System (FTMS) is the official Departmental system for tracking, monitoring, reporting, and securing approval of all foreign travel conducted by Federal and contractor employees.

(2)  All official foreign travel requests shall be entered in the FTMS. This documentation should be added at least 30 calendar days before the proposed departure date, unless exigent circumstances exist. The FTMS request must be approved prior to departure. In some cases, the sponsor involved in the activity will have oversight for completion and submission of this form. Please check with the ECCP staff prior to completion or submission of this form.

Request for Approval of Foreign Travel Form DOE F 551.1

See Also A-Z Guidance Topic Atomic Energy Act (AEA) Data– Tiers (1 – 3), for additional information on the AEA Tiers.

Other Resources

Bureau of Industry and Security
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls
Office of Foreign Assets Controls
Information on Exports
FBI Brochures
U.S. Department of State Travel Alerts
Homeland Security
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Purchasing Guidelines for Export Control