Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act

Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act

This act requires the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to annually report to Congress on export control licensing.

Under current law, BIS administers and enforces controls on the export of dual-use goods (e.g., items with both civilian and military uses) and certain military parts and components. These export controls are implemented primarily under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA) through the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

Under this act, BIS must annually report to Congress on license applications, other requests for authorization, and end-use checks (on-site verifications conducted by BIS) for the export, reexport, release, and in-country transfer of items subject to the EAR to covered entities. A covered entity is any entity that (1) is located in a country listed in Country Group D:5 (countries that are identified by the Department of State as subject to U.S. arms embargoes), and (2) is included on the Entity List or the Military End-User List (two of the lists published by BIS containing information on the individuals, organizations, and addresses subject to restrictions involving items subject to the EAR).

The act requires this report to include specified information, such as the name of the entity submitting the application, where the item is being exported, the decision with respect to the license application or authorization, and information on any end-use checks to ensure compliance with U.S. export controls. The information shall be exempt from public disclosure (except for aggregate statistics). Additionally, BIS must exclude from the report any information that could jeopardize an ongoing investigation.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service.