Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act
This bill adds a new reporting requirement to the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to increase the transparency of export licensing and end-use checks. Starting within one year of enactment and annually thereafter (subject to funding), the Secretary must submit a detailed report to Congress about license applications and other authorization requests for exporting, reexporting, releasing, or transferring controlled items to “covered entities,” including the outcomes of end-use checks. The report must cover specific data on each license/request, results of checks, and aggregate statistics, while keeping most information confidential and protecting information that could jeopardize ongoing enforcement. The bill defines who counts as a “covered entity” (those in certain restricted countries and listed on specific EAR export control lists) and identifies the congressional committees empowered to receive the report. Overall, the measure seeks to strengthen congressional oversight of export controls by requiring granular transparency about licensing decisions and enforcement checks, particularly with respect to restricted-country entities.
Key Points
- 1Adds new reporting requirement (section 1756(e)) to the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 mandating annual license- and end-use-check reporting to Congress.
- 2Required report contents for each license/authorization: submitting entity, item description (including ECCN and reason for control), end-user name and location, value estimate, license/authorization decision, and submission date.
- 3End-use check details: includes date, location, and result of any end-use checks conducted to verify compliance with U.S. export controls.
- 4Confidentiality and security: most information in the reports is confidential and not publicly disclosed; enforcement information must be protected from disclosure if it could jeopardize ongoing investigations.
- 5Definitions and scope: “covered entity” includes entities in countries listed in Country Group D:5 and on certain EAR lists; “appropriate congressional committees” are the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.