The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is an agency of the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bus ...

that deals with issues involving national security and high technology. A principal goal for the bureau is helping stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, while furthering the growth of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

exports. The Bureau is led by the

Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security The Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, or USC(IS), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the export of sensitive goods and ...

. The mission of the BIS is to advance U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. BIS's activities include regulating the export of sensitive goods and

dual-use technologies In politics, diplomacy and export control, dual-use items refers to goods, software and technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications.

in an effective and efficient manner; enforcing

export control Export control is legislation that regulates the export of goods, software and technology. Some items could potentially be useful for purposes that are contrary to the interest of the exporting country. These items are considered to be ''controlled ...

anti-boycott An anti-boycott, counter-boycott, or buycott is the excess buying of a particular brand or product in an attempt to counter a boycott of the same brand or product. Anti-boycott measures could also be in the form of laws and regulations adopted ...

, and

public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensur ...

laws; cooperating with and assisting other countries on

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

control and strategic trade issues; assisting U.S. industry to comply with international arms control agreements; monitoring the viability of the U.S. defense–industrial base; and promoting federal initiatives and public-private partnerships to protect the nation's

critical infrastructure Critical infrastructure (or critical national infrastructure (CNI) in the UK) is a term used by governments to describe assets that are essential for the functioning of a society and economy – the infrastructure. Most commonly associated wi ...

s. Items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) – which includes many sensitive goods and technologies like

encryption software Encryption software is software that uses cryptography to prevent unauthorized access to digital information. Cryptography is used to protect digital information on computers as well as the digital information that is sent to other computers over t ...

– require a permit from the Department of Commerce before they can be exported. To determine whether an export permit is required, an

Export Control Classification Number The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) are a set of regulations found a15 C.F.R. § 730 ''et seq'' They are administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security, which is part of the US Commerce Department. The EAR regulates export and expor ...

(ECCN) is used.

Organization

The Bureau of Industry and Security, a component of the

, is organized by the

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

as follows: *

**Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security **Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration ***Office of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls ***Office of Nonproliferation and Treaty Compliance ***Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security ***Office of Exporter Services ***Office of Technology Evaluation **Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement ***

Office of Export Enforcement The Office of Export Enforcement (OEE) is a part of the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security. BIS is the principal agency involved in the development, implementation, and enforcement of export controls for commer ...

***Office of Enforcement Analysis ***Office of Antiboycott Compliance

Guiding principles of the Bureau of Industry and Security

The main focus of the bureau is the security of the United States, which includes its national security,

economic security Economic security or financial security is the condition of having stable income or other resources to support a standard of living now and in the foreseeable future. It includes: * probable continued solvency * predictability of the future cash ...

cyber security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

, and

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...

. For example, in the area of

dual-use In politics, diplomacy and export control, dual-use items refers to goods, software and technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications.

export controls Export control is legislation that regulates the export of goods, software and technology. Some items could potentially be useful for purposes that are contrary to the interest of the exporting country. These items are considered to be ''controlled ...

, BIS administers and enforces such controls to stem the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...

and the means of delivering them, to halt the spread of weapons to

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

or countries of concern, and to further

U.S. foreign policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...

objectives. Where there is credible evidence suggesting that the export of a dual-use item threatens U.S. security, the Bureau is empowered to prevent export of the item. In addition to national security, BIS's function is to ensure the health of the U.S. economy and the competitiveness of U.S. industry. BIS promotes a strong defense–industrial base that can develop and provide technologies that will enable the United States to maintain its military superiority. BIS takes care to ensure that its regulations do not impose unreasonable restrictions on legitimate international commercial activity that are necessary for the health of U.S. industry.

Private sector collaboration

BIS works with the private sectors of the

aerospace manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circ ...

, defense and other high-tech industries, which today controls a greater share of critical U.S. resources than in the past. Because the health of U.S. industry is dependent on U.S. security, BIS has formed a

symbiotic relationship Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

between industry and security, which is reflected in the formulation, application, and enforcement of BIS rules and policies.

Shifting global priorities

BIS activities and regulations also seek to adapt to changing global conditions and challenges. The political, economic, technological, and

security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

environment that exists today is substantially different than that of only a decade ago. Laws, regulations, or practices that do not take into account these new global realities—and that do not have sufficient flexibility to allow for adaptation in response to future changes—ultimately harm national security by imposing costs and burdens on U.S. industry without any corresponding benefit to U.S. security. In the area of exports, these significant geopolitical changes suggest that the U.S. control regime that in the past was primarily list-based must shift to a mix of list-based controls and controls that target specific end-uses and end-users of concern. BIS thinks about how new technologies can be utilized in designing better export controls and enforcing controls more effectively. BIS strives to work cooperatively with

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

officials,

first responders A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...

, and federal executive departments and agencies, including the National Security Council,

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

, Department of State,

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, and the Intelligence Community. BIS consults with its

oversight Oversight may refer to: Governance *Regulation – rulemaking *Separation of powers in state governance (checks and balances) - the concept of separate branches of government or agencies exercising authority over one another *Checks and control ...

committees, (the

House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs o ...

and Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee) and other appropriate

Members of Congress A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

and

congressional staff Congressional staff are employees of the United States Congress or individual members of Congress. History Before the American Civil War, members of Congress did not have staff assistance or even offices, and "most members worked at their desks ...

on matters of mutual interest.

International cooperation

International cooperation In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal. Definitions Multilateralism, in the form of membership in international institutions, serves to bind powerful nations, discourage u ...

is critical to BIS's activities. The mission of promoting security depends heavily upon international cooperation with the United States's principal trading partners and other countries of strategic importance, such as major

transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g ...

hubs. BIS takes the viewpoint that when seeking to control the spread of dangerous goods and technologies, protecting critical infrastructures, and ensuring the existence of a strong defense industrial base, international cooperation is critical. With regard to export control laws in particular, effective

enforcement Enforcement is the proper execution of the process of ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, rules, standards, and social norms. Governments attempt to effectuate successful implementation of policies by enforcing laws and regulations. En ...

is greatly enhanced by both international cooperation and an effort to harmonize the substance of U.S. laws with those of our principal trading partners. International cooperation, however, does not mean "settling on the

lowest common denominator In mathematics, the lowest common denominator or least common denominator (abbreviated LCD) is the lowest common multiple of the denominators of a set of fractions. It simplifies adding, subtracting, and comparing fractions. Description The low ...

." Where consensus cannot be broadly obtained, the BIS will maintain its principles, often through cooperation among smaller groups of like-minded partners.

Lists of Parties of Concern

The Bureau keeps 5 major lists updated: The Consolidated Screening List is a searchable database maintained under a collaboration of the Departments of Commerce, State and Treasury, to aid individuals and industries which may be engaged in overseas trade to determine whether transactions involving specific persons or items are legal, or whether licensure or special records are required. The Entity List, which is regularly updated on both the BIS website and the Federal Register. The Military End User List, published as a supplement to the Export Administration Regulations Section 744. The Denied Persons List The Unverified List

References

External links

Bureau of Industry and Security

Bureau of Industry and Security
in the Federal Register
Search BIS Screening List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bureau Of Industry And Security Export and import control United States Department of Commerce agencies Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States