BIS Eases Licensing Rules for Certain Drone Exports
The Bureau of Industry and Security is easing certain license requirements to allow for easier exports of less sensitive drones to most Wassenaar Arrangement member states and exports of “more capable” drones to a group of close U.S. allies.
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The agency’s interim final rule, released and effective Jan. 20, comes after President Donald Trump directed the Commerce Department in June to update the Export Administration Regulations to expedite exports of certain unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to countries that aren’t “foreign adversaries” and that don’t pose a risk of diversion to those adversaries. In its rule, BIS said drones that once provided countries with military advantages are increasingly available to everyday consumers, and “relevant export controls have not kept pace with the advancement of the commercial UAV market.”
Expanding exports of “trusted, U.S.-manufactured” drones “supports a strong and secure domestic UAV industry vital to the U.S. defense industrial base and advances U.S. national security interests,” BIS said.
Public comments on the changes are due by Feb. 19.
One update revises the reason for control for drones listed under Export Control Classification No. 9A012.a.1. Those drones were previously controlled for national security reasons and were eligible to be exported without a license only to Australia, Canada and the U.K. Now, they can be shipped without a license to any nation in Country Group A:1, which includes nearly 40 close U.S. trading partners that mostly make up Wassenaar, the multilateral export control forum for dual-use goods.
“All other items detailed under ECCN 9A012 will retain their original [National Security Column 1] reason for control,” BIS said.
The rule’s second change makes certain drones described in ECCNs 9A012 and 9A120 -- including those controlled for missile technology reasons -- eligible for License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA). That license exception allows exporters to ship certain items to trusted U.S. allies if the foreign importer certifies that they won’t reexport the item outside a list of STA countries (see 2312070041).
Before the rule, drones controlled for missile technology reasons weren’t eligible for License Exception STA, and BIS licenses were typically required to export those items to all countries except for Australia, Canada and the U.K.
With the change, missile technology-controlled UAVs will be eligible for License Exception STA when exported, reexported or transferred to or within Country Group A:5, as long as they aren’t capable of “delivering at least a 500 kg payload to a distance of at least 300 km,” BIS said. The rule also makes certain drones with “spraying functionality” eligible for STA for exports to Country Group A:5 nations, again as long as they aren’t capable of delivering a 500 kg payload at least 300 km.