Sources: BIS Export Licensing Pause Back in Place
The Bureau of Industry and Security reinstated a pause on export license applications last week, four people with knowledge of the situation said, days after officials announced at the agency’s March update conference that licensing was expected to soon return to normal.
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BIS staff were ordered around March 26 to not approve licenses or refer applications to other U.S. agencies for review, the people said. One of the people, a senior BIS official who asked not to be named, said the order came from Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler and other Trump-appointed officials who wanted to review the licenses.
The holds apply to all export license applications under review by the agency, whether they’re new or old, two of the people said. They said licensing officers have been told not to move licenses into “Hold Without Action” status, and instead to keep them in limbo until officers receive more direction. They said they weren't given a specific reason for the holds.
“It’s informal,” the BIS official said. “We're not able to refer them yet [to other agencies], or sign off on them yet, unless we're returning them or denying them.”
A BIS spokesperson said April 2 that "licenses are being reviewed and processed," but didn't say whether a pause in approvals is back in place.
The agency first began pausing approvals of new export license applications in February (see 2502130068), sparking a barrage of questions from industry and a licensing backlog (see 2502280006 and 2502190018). BIS partially lifted the pause toward the end of the month and began processing applications involving a range of U.S. allies, including NATO countries and nations in Country Group A:5 (see 2503060013).
BIS career officials received many questions about the status of holds at the agency’s annual update conference in mid-March. One Commerce Department official said BIS was working to “resolve” the issue (see 2503180057), while another said companies would “hopefully” begin to see licenses “move in the imminent future," including after Kessler settled into his role.
Kessler didn’t discuss the reinstated license pause during a closed-door meeting with agency officials last week (see 2503280039), although he did tell employees that they shouldn’t be discussing policy matters, including licensing policies, with industry. Kessler is scheduled to meet with each BIS division and could speak with the licensing team as soon as next week, one person said, where he may discuss those policies.
BIS licensing officers, who had been able to clear much of their licensing backlog after the initial hold was partially lifted in late February, are again beginning to see applications build up. At least one licensing officer this week had a backlog of about 20-30 licenses, an official said.
The official said they weren't yet aware of exporters inquiring about the pause. “It's fairly new,” they said.
Out of a 10% sample of the 701 licenses submitted to BIS since March 27 in Stela, the online portal that tracks the status of licenses, only two have been referred to another agency, according to an Export Compliance Daily review of those applications.
The pause has resurfaced concerns of license delays, industry officials said. Some said they were told by BIS officials that Kessler would likely lift the holds after being sworn in to this position in late March.
Beth Pride, president of the trade consultant BPE Global, said she hasn’t seen “any movement” in the license applications her firm has helped to recently submit. She said the pause risks hurting American companies.
“People’s jobs are at stake,” Pride said. “We have applications for engineers and their job offers will be revoked if there is no reasonable expectation that they will be able to get an export license. This is making our U.S. clients less competitive.”
At least one industry official said they had heard some licenses are being processed. Larry Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said he was told the agency is reviewing and processing applications. NSSF members deal in firearms and ammunition.