Strengthening Export Controls Compliance Act

Exporters, especially small businesses, would get required federal compliance training — and licensing wait times would be published.

The details

Businesses that export controlled goods would get more help following the rules. Export controls decide which products, software, and technology can be sold abroad and to whom. Getting it wrong carries heavy penalties, and small firms rarely have a compliance department. The bill requires the President to send Congress a plan every two years for assisting exporters, with small and medium businesses named specifically. The plan must cover counseling on applications, trainings and seminars, reviews of company compliance plans, and one-on-one consultations. The Commerce Department would have to host an annual Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy. It must be listed on the Bureau of Industry and Security website and open to anyone from the public. Before issuing a major new export control rule, the Bureau would have to brief the public and industry on what the rule means and how it will work. The Bureau's yearly report to Congress would also grow. It would have to include how many advisory opinion and commodity classification requests came in, how many were answered, the average processing time for each category, and how many redacted opinions were posted publicly.