Search Results for keywords:"chemical and biological weapons"

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), under the Department of Commerce, has released a rule as part of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018. This rule introduces new license requirements and restrictions on U.S. persons engaging in activities related to military-intelligence end uses and end users, and clarifies existing export regulations, even when certain items are not traditionally covered by these rules. It aims to prevent circumvention of these regulations and broadens the scope of activities concerning chemical and biological weapons, as well as certain rocket systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. Additionally, the rule strengthens controls over entities at risk of diverting items to restricted military-intelligence uses, enhancing national security protections.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to clarify the scope of export controls on certain vaccines and medical products. These changes are based on decisions from the Australia Group's June 2019 Plenary meeting. The aim is to ensure greater consistency and harmonization of international export controls, enhancing national security by preventing dual-use items from contributing to the development of chemical or biological weapons. The rule modifies controls on vaccines containing specific biological agents to only require licenses for export to a limited number of countries of concern.