EAR vs. ITAR — Two US export control regimes
The US operates two parallel export control regimes administered by different agencies: EAR (Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR 730-774) administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the Commerce Department, and ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations, 22 CFR 120-130) administered by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) at the State Department. The split reflects a regulatory choice: dual-use civilian-military items go to Commerce; defense articles and services go to State.
EAR scope and structure
- Items covered: dual-use commercial items, software, technology with potential military applications.
- Classification: Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) on Commerce Control List (CCL).
- Licensing: license exceptions, Country Chart, end-user/end-use review.
- Enforcement: civil penalties, criminal prosecution; voluntary self-disclosure mitigates.
- Recent focus: semiconductors (October 2022, 2023 China controls), AI compute, foundry equipment.
ITAR scope and structure
- Items covered: defense articles on USML (US Munitions List) — weapons, military vehicles, aerospace, military electronics.
- Registration: manufacturers, exporters, and brokers must register with DDTC (annual fee).
- Licensing: generally case-by-case license required; very few exemptions; strict deemed-export rules for foreign nationals.
- Penalties: stringent — civil up to $1M per violation, criminal up to 20 years and $1M.
- USML categories: firearms (Cat I), guns/armament (II), ammunition (III), launch vehicles (IV), explosives (V), through Category XX.
Export controls for Turkish tech
EAR and ITAR reach Turkish companies through content, not incorporation: US-origin components, software or technology above de minimis thresholds carry the controls into re-exports from Türkiye, and cloud access by sanctioned-country nationals can itself be a deemed export. The compliance core for a hardware or deep-tech startup: classify products (ECCNs), screen end-users and end-uses, watch the entity lists, and write the obligations into both directions of the supply chain — suppliers warrant classifications, customers undertake no-re-export. ITAR is the sharper edge: defense-article taint is sticky and licensing is slow, so“ITAR-free” design choices are a real product-strategy lever. Diligence on dual-use startups starts with the classification file; not having one is the finding.