US Export Licensing Has 'Almost Become Stagnant,' Former Official Says
The export licensing pauses and delays since the Trump administration took over in January are in conflict with the president’s stated goal of boosting American exports and opening new markets for U.S. companies, said Ron Kirk, a former U.S. trade representative.
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Kirk, a Gibson Dunn lawyer speaking during a recent webinar hosted by the firm, noted that while the White House has been looking to negotiate trade deals with a range of countries to “open their market to more of our exports,” many U.S. exporters are still struggling to obtain licenses from the Bureau of Industry and Security.
“What we're also hearing is, because of the DOGE cuts, for example, at BIS, the ability to get export licenses has almost become stagnant,” he said. “They are understaffed. They are undermanned.”
BIS has paused and resumed processing license applications multiple times over the past few months, and many licenses appear to still be moving slowly (see 2506110008, 2504020051 and 2504140055).
“So while the administration may have this laudable goal of creating more markets … some of their own internal actions are frustrating the goals that they have stated that they're trying to achieve,” said Kirk, who was USTR under President Barack Obama.