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Access information – Information that allows access to encrypted technology or encrypted software in an unencrypted form. Example: decryption keys, network access codes, and passwords.

Accessories - Associated items for any “component,” “end item” or “system”, and which are not necessary for their operation, but enhance usefulness or effectiveness. For example, for a riding lawnmower, “accessories and “attachment” include the bag to capture the cut grass. 

Active flight control system (Cat. 7) – Function to prevent undesirable “aircraft” motions or structural loads by autonomously process outputs from multiple sensors and providing the necessary preventable commands to effect automatic control.

Active pixel (Cat. 6) – A minimum (single) element of the solid state array that has a photoelectric transfer function when exposed to light (electromagneticz0 radiation.

Adaptive control (Cat. 2) – A control system that adjusts the response from conditions detected during the operation.

Adjusted peak performance (APP) (Cat. 4) – An adjusted peak rate at which “digital computers” perform 64-bit or larger floating point additions and multiplications. For the formula to calculate APP contact NDSU Export Controls office.

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) — The United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

Commerce Control List (CCL) – A list of items under the export control jurisdiction of the Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce. The CCL is found in Supplement 1 to part 774 of the EAR.

Commerce Control List (CCL) Category – The CCL is divided into ten categories: (0) Nuclear Materials, Facilities and Equipment, and Miscellaneous; (1) Materials, Chemicals, Microorganisms, and Toxins; (2) Materials Processing; (3) Electronics Design, Development and Production; (4) Computers; (5) Telecommunications and Information Security; (6) Sensors and Lasers; (7) Navigation and Avionics; (8) Marine; (9) Propulsion Systems, Space Vehicles, and Related Equipment.

Commerce Control List (CCL) Group – The CCL is divided into 10 categories. Each category is subdivided into five groups, designated by the letters A through E: (A) Equipment, assemblies, and components; (B) Test, inspection and production equipment; (C) Materials; (D) Software; and (E) Technology.

Component – This is an item that is useful only when used in conjunction with an “end item”. Components are also commonly referred to as assemblies. There are two types of components: major components and minor components. A major component includes any assembled element which forms a portion of an end item without which the end item is inoperable. For example, for an automobile, components include the engine, transmission and battery. Minor components include any assembled element of a major component.

Composite (Cat. 1,2,6,8, and 9) – A matrix and an additional phase or additional phased consisting of particles, whiskers, fibers or any combination thereof, present for a specific purpose or purposes. 

Controlled country – A list of countries designated controlled for national security purposes found in Country Group D:1, including: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, the People’s Republic of China, Georgia, Iraq, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macau, Moldova, Mongolia, North Korea, Russia, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. All of the controlled countries except Cuba are listed in Country Group D:1 of the EAR. Cuba is listed in Country Group E:2.

Development – Development is related to all stages prior to serial production, such as: design, design research, design analyses, design concepts, assembly and testing of prototypes, pilot production schemes, design data, process of transforming design data into a product, configuration design, integration design, and layouts.

Defense Article – Any item or technical data designated on the USML, 22 C.F.R. Pt. 121.1, as well as technical data recorded and stored in any physical form, models, mockups or other items that reveal “technical data” directly relating to items on the USML.

Defense Service – The furnishing of assistance (including training) to foreign persons, whether in the United States or abroad, in the design, development, engineering, repair, maintenance, modification, operation, demilitarization, destruction, processing or use of defense articles or the furnishing to foreign persons of any technical data controlled by the ITAR.

Dual use – Items that have both commercial and military applications. 

Educational Information Exclusion
EAR: Release of information by instruction in catalog courses and associated teaching laboratories of academic institutions is not subject to EAR.
ITAR: Information concerning general scientific, mathematical, or engineering principles commonly taught in schools, colleges and universities is not controlled by ITAR.

Effective control – You maintain effective control over an item when you either retain physical possession of the item, or secure the item in such an environment as a hotel safe, a bonded warehouse, or a locked or guarded exhibition facility. 

Embargo – An embargo is the prohibition of commerce and trade with a certain country, in order to isolate it and to put its government into a difficult internal situation, given that the effects of the embargo are often able to make its economy suffer from the initiative.

Empowered Official – a U.S. person who: (1) is directly employed by the applicant or a subsidiary in a position having authority for policy or management within the applicant organization; and (2) Is legally empowered in writing by the applicant to sign license applications or other requests for approval on behalf of the applicant; and (3) Understands the provisions and requirements of the various export control statutes and regulations, and the criminal liability, civil liability and administrative penalties for violating the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations; and (4) Has the independent authority to: (i) Enquire into any aspect of a proposed export or temporary import by the applicant, and (ii) Verify the legality of the transaction and the accuracy of the information to be submitted; and (iii) Refuse to sign any license application or other request for approval without prejudice or other adverse recourse. (22 C.F.R.§ 120.25)

End-use – A detailed description of how the ultimate consignee intends to use the commodities being exported.

End-user – The person abroad that receives and ultimately uses the exported or reexported items. The end-user is not a forwarding agent or intermediary, but may be the purchaser or ultimate consignee.

Export – The actual shipment or transmission of items subject to export controls (i.e., the EAR or the ITAR) out of the United States, or the “release” of technology or software (including source code) to a foreign national in, or outside of, the United States. (A release of technology or source code to a foreign national in the United States is considered a “deemed export.”)

Export Administration Regulations – The Export Administration Regulations (EAR), Title 15, sections 730-774 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), means the regulations promulgated and implemented by the Department of Commerce that regulate the export of goods and related technology identified on the Commodity Control List (CCL).

Export control – The set of laws, policies, and regulations that govern the export of sensitive items for a country or company.

Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) – Identifies items on the Commerce Control List that are subject to the export licensing authority of the Bureau of Industry and Security.

Exporter – The person who has authority of a principal party in interest to determine and control the sending of items out of the country.

Export license – The approval documentation issued by an export agency authority authorizing the recipient to proceed with the export, reexport, or other regulated activity as specified on the application.

Foreign Entity – A foreign entity is any corporation, business or other entity that is not incorporated to do business in the U.S. This includes international organizations, foreign governments, or any agency of a foreign government.

Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Program (FGTRP):

In general, such programs include any foreign-state-sponsored attempt to acquire U.S. scientific-funded research or technology through foreign government-run or funded recruitment programs that target scientists, engineers, academics, researchers, and entrepreneurs of all nationalities working or educated in the United States. These recruitment programs are often part of broader whole-of-government strategies to reduce costs associated with basic research while focusing investment on military development or dominance in emerging technology sectors.

Distinguishing features of a foreign government talent recruitment program covered include:

(1) Compensation provided by the foreign state to the targeted individual in exchange for the individual transferring their knowledge and expertise to the foreign country. The compensation can take several forms, such as cash, research funding, honorific titles, career advancement opportunities, promised future compensation, or other types of remuneration or consideration.

(2) Recruitment in this context refers to the foreign-state-sponsor’s active engagement in attracting the targeted individual to join the foreign sponsored program and transfer their knowledge and expertise to the foreign state. The targeted individual may be employed and located in the U.S., or in the foreign state. Recruitment would not necessarily include any invitation for engagement extended by the foreign state, for example, an invitation to attend or present work at an international conference.

(3) Many, but not all, programs aim to incentivize the targeted individual to physically relocate to the foreign state. Of particular concern are those programs that allow for continued employment at U.S. research facilities or receipt of DOE research funds while concurrently receiving compensation from the foreign state.

Foreign National – means any person other than a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e., a “greencard” holder), or a “protected individual” as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3) (e.g., refugees or persons seeking asylum).

Foreign Person Work Visa – Foreign person work visa petitions requiring the export certification include H-1B, H-1B1, L01, and O-1A visa petitions.

Forwarding agent – This is the person in the country of origin who is authorized by a principle party in interest to perform the services required to facilitate the export of the items from the country of origin. This may include air couriers or carriers. In routed export transactions, the forwarding agent and the exporter may be the same for compliance purposes under the EAR.

Fundamental Research – (EAR and ITAR) means basic or applied research in science and engineering performed or conducted at an accredited institution of higher learning in the United States where the resulting information is ordinarily published and shared broadly in the scientific community. Fundamental research is distinguished from research that results in information that is restricted for proprietary reasons or national security reasons (EAR) or pursuant to specific U.S. government access and dissemination controls (ITAR).

Good – Any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply, or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and excluding technology.

Intermediate consignee – The person that acts as an agent for a principal party in interest for the purpose of effecting delivery of items to the ultimate consignee.

International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR) – The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR §§ 120-130, means the regulations promulgated and implemented by the Department of State that control the export of articles, services, and related technical data that are inherently military in nature, as determined by the State Department. These “defense articles,” “defense services,” and related “technical data” are listed on the Munitions List (USML), 22 CFR § 121. Even some articles and technologies that are not readily identifiable as inherently military in nature—for example, research satellites—are included on the USML.

Knowledge – Knowledge, and variants such as “reason to know” or “reason to believe,” includes not only positive knowledge that the circumstance exists or is substantially certain to occur, but also an awareness of a high probability of its existence or future occurrence. Such awareness is inferred from evidence of the conscious disregard of facts known to a person and also is inferred from a person’s willful avoidance of facts.

Munitions List – articles, services and related technical data designated as defense articles and defense services pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act.

Multiple channel analog-to-Digital converter (ADC) (Cat. 3) – devices that integrate more than one ADC, designed so that each ADC has a separate analog input.

Object code (or object language) (GSN) – An equipment executable form of a convenient expression of one or more processes (source code or source language) that has been compiled by a programming system.    

Production – All production stages, such as: product engineering, manufacture, integration, assembly (mounting), inspection, testing, and quality assurance.

Public Domain – (ITAR; 22 CFR § 120.11) means information that is published and that is generally accessible or available to the public:

1. through sales at newsstands and bookstores;
2. through subscriptions which are available without restriction to any individual who desires to obtain or purchase the published information;
3. through second class mailing privileges granted by the U.S. government;
4. at libraries open to the public or from which the public can obtain documents;
5. through patents available at any patent office;
6. through unlimited distribution at a conference, meeting, seminar, trade show, or exhibition, generally accessible to the public, in the United States;
7. through public release (i.e., unlimited distribution) in any form (e.g., not necessarily in published form) after approval by the cognizant U.S. government department or agency;
8. through fundamental research in science and engineering at accredited institutions of higher learning in the U.S. where the resulting information is ordinarily published and shared broadly in the scientific community.

Published – made available to the public without restrictions 

Purchaser – The person abroad who has entered into a transaction to purchase an item for delivery to the ultimate consignee. In most cases, the purchaser is not a bank, forwarding agent, or intermediary. The purchaser and ultimate consignee may be the same entity.

Release – Technology or software is “released” for export through: (i) visual inspection by foreign nationals of U.S.-origin equipment, facilities or documentation; (ii) oral or written exchanges of information in the United States or abroad; or (iii) the application to situations abroad of personal knowledge or technical experience acquired in the United States.

Reexport – an actual shipment or transmission of items subject to export regulations from one foreign country to another foreign country. For the purposes of the U.S. EAR, the export or reexport of items subject to the EAR that will transit through a country or countries to a new country, or are intended for reexport to the new country, are deemed to be exports to the new country.

Source Code – (or source language) an expression of one or more processes that may be turned by a programing system into equipment executable form.

Specially Designated National (SDN) – a list of individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries, published by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). It also lists individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. Collectively, such individuals and companies are called “Specially Designated Nationals” or “SDNs.” Their assets are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.

Technical Assistance – may take forms such as instruction, skills training, working knowledge, and consulting services. Technical assistance may involve the transfer of “technical data.”

Technical data – includes information “required for” the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance, or modification of defense articles. It may take forms such as blueprints, plans, diagrams, models, formulae, tables, engineering designs and specifications, manuals and instructions written or recorded on other media or devices such as disk, tape, and read-only memories.

Technology – means specific information necessary for the “development,” “production,” or “use” of a product. The information takes the form of “technical data” or “technical assistance.” Information that is generally accessible or available to the public is not “technology” subject to the EAR.

Trade Sanctions – Trade sanctions are trade penalties imposed by one or more countries on one or more other countries. Typically the sanctions take the form of import tariffs (duties), licensing schemes or other administrative hurdles. They tend to arise in the context of an unresolved trade or policy dispute, such as a disagreement about the fairness of some policy affecting international trade (imports or exports).

Ultimate consignee – The principal party in interest located abroad who receives the exported or reexported items. The ultimate consignee is not a forwarding agent or other intermediary, but may be the end-user.

U.S. person – Any individual who is a citizen of the United States, a permanent resident alien of the United States, or any person physically located in the United States. Any juridical person (corporation, association, etc.), including foreign branches, organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States.

Use – Operation, installation (including on-site installation), maintenance (including checking), repair, overhaul and/or refurbishing.