§120.4. Commodity jurisdiction. — Inbound Citations

(a) If you are not sure whether a commodity, software, technology, or activity “subject to the EAR” is subject to licensing or other requirements under the EAR, you may ask BIS for an advisory opinion or a commodity classification determination. In order to determine whether an item is “subject to the ITAR,” you should review the ITAR's United States Munitions List (see 22 CFR 120.3, 120.6 and 121.1). You may also submit a request to the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, for a formal jurisdictional determination regarding the commodity, software, technology, or activity at issue; or in ITAR terms, the defense article, technical data or defense service at issue (see 22 CFR 120.4).

(a) Upon electronic submission of a Commodity Jurisdiction Determination Form (Form DS-4076), the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) shall provide a determination of whether a particular article or service is covered by the U.S. Munitions List in part 121 of this subchapter. The determination, consistent with §§ 120.2, 120.3, and 120.4, entails consultation among the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce, and other U.S. Government agencies and industry in appropriate cases. State, Defense, and Commerce will resolve commodity jurisdiction determination disputes in accordance with established procedures. State shall notify Defense and Commerce, and other U.S. Government agencies as appropriate, of the initiation and conclusion of each case.

The Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778(a) and 2794(7)) provides that the President shall designate the articles and services deemed to be defense articles and defense services for purposes of import or export controls. The President has delegated to the Secretary of State the authority to control the export and temporary import of defense articles and services. The items designated by the Secretary of State for purposes of export and temporary import control constitute the U.S. Munitions List (USML) specified in part 121 of this subchapter. Defense articles on the USML specified in part 121 of this subchapter that are also subject to permanent import control by the Attorney General on the U.S. Munitions Import List enumerated in 27 CFR part 447 are subject to temporary import controls administered by the Secretary of State. Designations of defense articles and defense services on the USML in part 121 of this subchapter are made by the Department of State with the concurrence of the Department of Defense. The scope of the USML shall be changed only by amendments made pursuant to section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778). For a designation or determination on whether a particular item is enumerated on the USML, see § 120.4.

(1) Is determined to be under the jurisdiction of another department or agency of the U.S. Government (see § 120.5) pursuant to a commodity jurisdiction determination (see § 120.4) unless superseded by changes to the USML or by a subsequent commodity jurisdiction determination; or

(a) The commodity jurisdiction procedure is used with the U.S. Government if doubt exists as to whether an article or service is covered by the U.S. Munitions List (USML). It may also be used for consideration of a redesignation of an article or service currently covered by the USML. The Department must provide notice to Congress at least 30 days before any item is removed from the USML.

(A) A description of whether the U.S. business produces, designs, tests, manufactures, fabricates, or develops one or more:

(1) Items that are subject to the EAR and, if so, a description (which may group similar items into general product categories) of the items and a list of the relevant commodity classifications set forth on the CCL (i.e., ECCNs or EAR99 designation);

(2) Defense articles and defense services, and related technical data covered by the USML in the ITAR, and, if so, the category of the USML; articles and services for which commodity jurisdiction requests (22 CFR 120.4) are pending; and articles and services (including those under development) that may be designated or determined in the future to be defense articles or defense services under 22 CFR 120.3;

(3) Specially designed and prepared nuclear equipment, parts and components, materials, software, and technology covered by 10 CFR part 810;

(4) Nuclear facilities, equipment, and material covered by 10 CFR part 110;

(5) Select Agents and Toxins (7 CFR part 331, 9 CFR part 121, and 42 CFR part 73); or

(6) Emerging and foundational technologies controlled under section 1758 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (codified at 50 U.S.C. 4817);