Associate Vice President of Research and Research Compliance Officer
Anna Kurdowska, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Research and Research Compliance Officer, oversees Export Control at The University of Texas at Tyler main and Health Science Center campuses.
What are the Export Control Laws?
Export Control Laws (ECLs) broadly describe a comprehensive series of regulations enforced by the Federal Government concerning the export of certain controlled technologies. The regulatory scheme encompassing ECLs requires certain technologies to be controlled for reasons of national security, foreign policy, and competitive trade.
ECLs control the conditions under which certain information, technologies, and commodities can be shipped, shared, or transmitted ("export") overseas to anyone, including U.S. citizens, or to a foreign national on U.S. soil. In the same manner, such controls can extend to interactions with foreign corporations. Most commonly, the control would involve obtaining a "license" from the Federal Government prior to exporting of any controlled technologies.
The term export when used in the context of ECLs is much broader then the standard notion of a tangible item being shipped out of the United States. Under ECLs, the term export includes any: (1) actual shipment of any covered goods or items; (2) the electronic or digital transmission of any covered goods, items or related goods or items; (3) any release or disclosure, including verbal disclosures or visual inspections, of any technology, software or technical data to any foreign national; or (4) actual use or application of covered technology on behalf of or for the benefit of a foreign entity or person anywhere. Export controls preclude the participation of all foreign nationals in research that involves covered technology without first obtaining a license from the appropriate government agency.
As mentioned, ECLs involve a number of different regulations. The three major regulatory schemes in place governing ECLs are provided in the table below: