[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 236 (Friday, December 8, 1995)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 62981-62985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30106]



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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 236 / Friday, December 8, 1995 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 62981]]

                Executive Order 12981 of December 5, 1995

                
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 to, 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, 

[[Page 62982]]
                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 check 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 for 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 the 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 informa

[[Page 62983]]
                tion 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 the 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 representa

[[Page 62984]]
                tives 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 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. 
                
[[Page 62985]]


                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.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    December 5, 1995.

[FR Doc. 95-30106
Filed 12-6-95; 2:31 pm]
Billing code 3195-01-P