U.S. Export Controls and Economic Sanctions is a must for those who deal with U.S. government export control and economic sanctions regulations. Written as a user’s manual rather than an academic or historical treatise, it covers in considerable detail—but in language that is intelligible to non-lawyers as well as lawyers—the Commerce Department’s controls on exports of commercial, “dual-use” (having both commercial and military utility), and low-level military items, the State Department’s controls on higher-level military items, the Treasury Department’s approximately thirty different economic sanctions programs, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s controls on nuclear-related commodities, and the Energy Department’s restrictions on assistance to foreign nuclear programs. Given the authors’ decades of experience with these regulations, the book not only explains the legal rules but also offers tips—not necessarily reflected in the regulations themselves—about how to interpret the regulations and deal with the regulators.

Chapter 3 covers U.S. government economic sanctions, which may be imposed upon entire countries (as embargoes), specified economic sectors, or individual state or nonstate actors. These comprise approximately thirty different programs that are governed principally by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), various other sanctions legislation, and the regulations of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The chapter explains: which types of transactions are subject to the OFAC regulations; the basis and criteria for those restrictions; how to determine whether your transaction is prohibited without a license and, if so, whether you are likely to get a license for it; how to seek a license if one is required; and the potential penalties for violating the rules. The chapter also explains how the OFAC regulations relate to the regulatory regimes covered in other parts of the book.

Chapter 4 covers two related sets of U.S. government controls on nuclear-related items that flow from the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978. One, administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), covers exports of nuclear hardware and nuclear materials. The other, called “Part 810” and administered by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy, covers assistance by U.S. persons (including transfers of nuclear-related technology) to foreign nuclear activities. The chapter explains: which items and activities are subject to the NRC and NNSA regulations; the basis and criteria for their restrictions; how to determine whether your commodity or activity is covered and, if so, whether you will need a license to export or reexport it; how to get a license if one is required; and the potential penalties for violating the rules. The chapter also explains how the NRC and NNSA rules relate to the regulatory regimes covered in other parts of the book.

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Chapter 2 covers U.S. government controls on exports, reexports, and transfers of “U.S.-origin” goods, software, and technology, and the provision of services, that are military in nature. These are governed principally by the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which are administered by the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). The chapter explains: which items are subject to the ITAR; the basis and criteria for the ITAR’s restrictions; the requirement to register with DDTC if you export or manufacture items subject to the ITAR or if you are involved in other activities regulated by the ITAR; how to determine whether your product or technology is covered and, if so, whether you will need a license to export or reexport it; how to get a license if one is required; how to clear and document the actual export; the potential penalties for violating the rules; and reporting requirements related to political contributions, fees, and commissions paid in connection with certain sales, . The chapter also explains how the ITAR relate to the regulatory regimes covered in other parts of the book.