[House Document 104-142]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]






        104th Congress, 1st Session  - - - - - - - - - - - - House 
Document 104-142


 
              REVISIONS TO THE EXPORT CONTROL REGULATIONS

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              TRANSMITTING

NOTIFICATON THAT HE HAS EXERCISED THE AUTHORITY GRANTED TO HIM TO ISSUE 
AN EXECUTIVE ORDER (A COPY OF WHICH IS ATTACHED) TO REVISE THE EXISTING 
PROCEDURES FOR PROCESSING EXPORT LICENSE APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED TO THE 
         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 1703(b)




  December 6, 1995.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
     Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
    In order to take additional steps with respect to the 
national emergency described and declared in Executive Order 
No. 12924 of August 19, 1994, and continued on August 15, 1995, 
necessitated by the expiration of the Export Administration Act 
on August 20, 1994, I hereby report to the Congress that 
pursuant to section 204(b) of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) (``the Act''), I have 
today exercised the authority granted by the Act to issue an 
Executive order (a copy of which is attached) to revise the 
existing procedures for processing export license applications 
submitted to the Department of Commerce.
    The Executive order establishes two basic principles for 
processing export license applications submitted to the 
Department of Commerce under the Act and the Regulations, or 
under any renewal of, or successor to, the Export 
Administration Act and the Regulations. First, all such license 
applications must be resolved or referred to me for resolution 
no later than 90 calendar days after they are submitted to the 
Department of Commerce. Second, the Departments of State, 
Defense, and Energy, and the Arms Control and Disarmament 
Agency will have the authority to review any such license 
application. In addition, the Executive order sets forth 
specific procedures including intermediate time frames, for 
review and resolution of such license applications.
    The Executive order is designed to make the licensing 
process more efficient and transparent for exporters while 
ensuring that our national security, foreign policy, and 
nonproliferation interests remain fully protected.

                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, December 5, 1995.
                            Executive Order

                   administration of export controls

    By the authority vested in me as President by the 
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, 
including but not limited to the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et. seq.) (``the Act''), 
and in order to take additional steps with respect to the 
national emergency described and declared in Executive Order 
No. 12924 of August 19, 1994, and continued on August 15, 1995, 
I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of 
America, find that it is necessary for the procedures set forth 
below to apply to export license applications submitted under 
the Act and the Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R. 
Part 730 et. seq.) (``the Regulations'') or under any renewal 
of, or successor to, the Export Administration Act of 1979, as 
amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2401 et. seq.) (``the Export 
Administration Act''), and the Regulations. Accordingly, it is 
hereby ordered as follows:
    Section 1. License Review. To the extent permitted by law 
and consistent with Executive Order No. 12924 of August 19, 
1994, the power, authority, and discretion conferred upon the 
Secretary of Commerce (``the Secretary'') under the Export 
Administration Act to require, review, and make final 
determinations with regard to export licenses, documentation, 
and other forms of information submitted to the Department of 
Commerce pursuant to the Act and the Regulations or under any 
renewal of, or successor to, the Export Administration Act and 
the Regulations, with the power of successive redelegation, 
shall continue. The Departments of State, Defense, and Energy, 
and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency each shall have the 
authority to review any export license application submitted to 
the Department of Commerce pursuant to the Act and the 
Regulations or under any renewal of, or successor to, the 
Export Administration Act and the Regulations. The Secretary 
may refer license applications to other United States 
Government departments or agencies for review as appropriate. 
In the event that a department or agency determines that 
certain types of applications need not be referred to it, such 
department or agency shall notify the Department of Commerce as 
to the specific types of such applications that it does not 
wish to review. All departments or agencies shall promptly 
respond, on a case-by-case basis, to requests from other 
departments or agencies for historical information relating to 
past license applications.
    Sec. 2. Determinations. (a) All license applications 
submitted under the Act and the Regulations or any renewal of, 
or successor of, the Export Administration Act and the 
Regulations, shall be resolved or referred to the President no 
later than 90 calendar days after registration of the completed 
license application.
    (b) The following actions related to processing a license 
application submitted under the Act and the Regulations or any 
renewal of, or successor to, the Export Administration Act and 
the Regulations shall not be counted in calculating the time 
periods prescribed in this order:
    (1) Agreement of the Applicant. Delays upon which the 
Secretary and the applicant mutually agree.
    (2) Prelicense Checks. Prelicense checks through government 
channels that may be required to establish the identity and 
reliability of the recipient of items controlled under the Act 
and the Regulations or any renewal of, or successor to, the 
Export Administration Act and the Regulations, provided that:
    (A) the need for such prelicense check is established by 
the Secretary, or by another department, or agency if the 
request for prelicense is made by such department or agency;
    (B) the Secretary requests the prelicense check within 5 
days of the determination that it is necessary; and
    (C) the Secretary completes the analysis of the result of 
the prelicense check within 5 days.
    (3) Requests for Government-To-Government Assurances. 
Requests for government-to-government assurances of suitable 
end-use of items approved for export under the Act and the 
Regulations or any renewal of, or successor to, the Export 
Administration Act and the Regulations, when failure to obtain 
such assurances would result in rejection of the application, 
provided that:
    (A) the request for such assurances is sent to the 
Secretary of State within 5 days of the determination that the 
assurances are required:
    (B) the Secretary of State initiates the request of the 
relevant government within 10 days thereafter; and
    (C) the license is issued within 5 days of the Secretary's 
receipt of the requested assurances.

Whenever such prelicense checks and assurances are not 
requested within the time periods set forth above, they must be 
accomplished within the time periods established by this 
section.
    (4) Multilateral Reviews. Multilateral review of a license 
application as provided for under the Act and the Regulations 
or any renewal of, or successor to, the Export Administration 
Act and the Regulations, as long as multilateral review is 
required by the relevant multilateral regime.
    (5) Consultations. Consultation with other governments, if 
such consultation is provided by a relevant multilateral regime 
or bilateral arrangement as a precondition for approving a 
license.
    Sec. 3. Initial Processing. Within 9 days of registration 
of any license application, the Secretary shall, as 
appropriate:
    (a) request additional information from the applicant. The 
time required for the applicant to supply the additional 
information shall not be counted in calculating the time 
periods prescribed in this section.
    (b) refer the application and pertinent information to 
agencies or departments as stipulated in section 1 of this 
order, and forward to the agencies any relevant information 
submitted by the applicant that could not be reduced to 
electronic form.
    (c) assure that the stated classification on the 
application is correct; return the application if a license is 
not required, and, if referral to other departments or agencies 
is not required, grant the application or notify the applicant 
of the Secretary's intention to deny the application.
    Sec. 4. Department or Agency Review. (a) Each reviewing 
department or agency shall specify to the Secretary, within 10 
days of receipt of a referral as specified in subsection 3(b), 
any information not in the application that would be required 
to make a determination, and the Secretary shall promptly 
request such information from the applicant. If, after receipt 
of the information so specified or other new information, a 
reviewing department or agency concludes that additional 
information would be required to make a determination, it shall 
promptly specify that additional information to the Secretary, 
and the Secretary shall promptly request such information from 
the applicant. The time that may elapse between the date the 
information is requested by the reviewing department or agency 
and the date of information is received by the reviewing 
department or agency shall not be counted in calculating the 
time periods prescribed in this order. Such information 
specified by reviewing departments or agencies is in addition 
to any information that may be requested by the Department of 
Commerce on its own initiative during the first 9 days after 
registration of an application.
    (b) Within 30 days of receipt of a referral and all 
required information, a department or agency shall provide the 
Secretary with a recommendation either to approve or deny the 
license application. As appropriate, such recommendation may be 
with the benefit of consultation and discussions in interagency 
groups established to provide expertise and coordinate 
interagency consultation. A recommendation that the Secretary 
deny a license shall include a statement of the reasons for 
such recommendation that are consistent with the provisions of 
the Act and the Regulations or any renewal of, or successor to, 
the Export Administration Act and the Regulations and shall 
cite both the statutory and the regulatory bases for the 
recommendation to deny. A department or agency that fails to 
provide a recommendation within 30 days with a statement of 
reasons and the statutory and regulatory bases shall be deemed 
to have no objection to the decision of the Secretary.
    Sec. 5. Interagency Dispute Resolution. (a) Committees. 
(1)(A) Export Administration Review Board. The Export 
Administration Review Board (``the Board''), which was 
established by Executive Order No. 11533 of June 4, 1970, and 
continued in Executive Order No. 12002 of July 7, 1977, is 
hereby continued. The Board shall have as its members, the 
Secretary, who shall be Chair of the Board, the Secretary of 
State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and 
Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. The 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of 
Central Intelligence shall be nonvoting members of the Board. 
No alternate Board members shall be designated, but the acting 
head or deputy head of any member department or agency may 
serve in lieu of the head of the concerned department or 
agency. The Board may invite the heads of other United States 
Government departments or agencies, other than the departments 
or agencies represented by the Board members, to participate in 
the activities of the Board when matters of interest to such 
departments or agencies are under consideration.
    (B) The Secretary may, from time to time, refer to the 
Board such particular export license matters, involving 
questions of national security or other major policy issues, as 
the Secretary shall select. The Secretary shall also refer to 
the Board any other such export license matter, upon the 
request of any other member of the Board or the head of any 
other United States Government department or agency having any 
interest in such matter. The Board shall consider the matters 
so referred to it, giving due consideration to the foreign 
policy of the united States, the national security, the 
domestic economy, and concerns about the proliferation of 
armaments, weapons of mass destruction, missile delivery 
systems, and advanced conventional weapons and shall make 
recommendations thereon to the Secretary.
    (2) Advisory Committee on Export Policy. An Advisory 
Committee on Export Policy (``ACEP'') is established and shall 
have as its members the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 
Export Administration, who shall be Chair of the ACEP, and 
Assistant Secretary-level representatives of the Departments of 
State, Defense, and Energy, and the Arms Control and 
Disarmament Agency. Appropriate representatives of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff and of the Nonproliferation Center of the 
Central Intelligence Agency shall be nonvoting members of the 
ACEP. Representatives of the departments or agencies shall be 
the appropriate Assistant Secretary or equivalent (or 
appropriate acting Assistant Secretary or equivalent in lieu of 
the Assistant Secretary or equivalent) of the concerned 
department or agency, or appropriate Deputy Assistant Secretary 
or equivalent (or the appropriate acting Deputy Assistant 
Secretary or equivalent in lieu of the Deputy Assistant 
Secretary or equivalent) of the concerned department or agency. 
Regardless of the department or agency representative's rank, 
such representative shall speak and vote at the ACEP on behalf 
of the appropriate Assistant Secretary or equivalent of such 
department or agency. The ACEP may invite Assistant Secretary-
level representatives of other United States Government 
departments or agencies, other than the departments and 
agencies represented by the ACEP members, to participate in the 
activities of the ACEP when matters of interest to such 
departments or agencies are under consideration.
    (3)(A) Operating Committee. An Operating Committee (``OC'') 
of the ACEP is established. The Secretary shall appoint its 
Chair, who shall also serve as Executive Secretary of the ACEP. 
Its other members shall be representatives of appropriate 
agencies in the Departments of Commerce, State, Defense, and 
Energy, and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. The 
appropriate representatives of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 
the Nonproliferation Center of the Central Intelligence Agency 
shall be nonvoting members of the OC. The OC may invite 
representatives of the other United States Government 
departments or agencies, other than the departments and 
agencies represented by the OC members, to participate in the 
activities of the OC when matters of interest to such 
departments or agencies are under consideration.
    (B) the OC shall review all license applications on which 
the reviewing departments and agencies are not in agreement. 
The Chair of the OC shall consider the recommendations of the 
reviewing departments and agencies and inform them of his or 
her decision on any such matters within 14 days after the 
deadline for receiving department and agency recommendations. 
As described below, any reviewing department or agency may 
appeal the decision of the Chair of the OC to the Chair of the 
ACEP. In the absence of a timely appeal, the Chair's decision 
will be final.
    (b) Resolution Procedures. (1) If any department or agency 
disagrees with a licensing determination of the Department of 
Commerce made through the OC, it may appeal the matter to the 
ACEP for resolution. A department or agency must appeal a 
matter within 5 days of such a decision. Appeals must be in 
writing from an official appointed by the President by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, or an officer properly 
acting in such capacity, and must cite both the statutory and 
the regulatory bases for the appeal. The ACEP shall review all 
departments' and agencies' information and recommendations, and 
the Chair of the ACEP shall inform the reviewing departments 
and agencies of the majority vote decision of the ACEP within 
11 days from the date of receiving notice of the appeal. Within 
5 days of the majority vote decision, any dissenting department 
or agency may appeal the decision by submitting a letter from 
the head of the department or agency to the Secretary in his or 
her capacity as the Chair of the Board. Such letter shall cite 
both the statutory and the regulatory bases for the appeal. 
Within the same period of time, the Secretary may call a 
meeting on his or her own initiative to consider a license 
application. In the absence of a timely appeal, the majority 
vote decision of the ACEP shall be final.
    (2) The Board shall review all departments' and agencies' 
information and recommendations, and such other export control 
matters as may be appropriate. The Secretary shall inform the 
reviewing departments and agencies of the majority vote of the 
Board within 11 days from the date of receiving notice of 
appeal. Within 5 days of the decision, any department or agency 
dissenting from the majority vote decision of the Board may 
appeal the decision by submitting a letter from the head of the 
dissenting department or agency to the President. In the 
absence of a timely appeal, the majority vote decision of the 
Board shall be final.
    Sec. 6. The license review process in this order shall take 
effect beginning with those license applications registered by 
the Secretary 60 days after the date of this order and shall 
continue in effect to the extent not inconsistent with any 
renewal of the Export Administration Act, or with any successor 
to that Act.
    Sec. 7. Judicial Review. This order is intended only to 
improve the internal management of the executive branch and is 
not intended to, and does not, create any rights to 
administrative or judicial review, or any other right or 
benefit or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural, 
enforceable by a party against the United States, its agencies 
or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other 
person.

                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, December 5, 1995.

                                
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