To many people, BIS sounds like many other government acronyms.  BIS stands for Bureau of Industry and Security.  The mandate of BIS is extremely important and worth taking a closer look at.

The BIS mission statement is to “Advance U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic objectives by ensuring an effective export control and treaty compliance system and promoting continued U.S. strategic technology leadership.” That is quite a mission!  Think of each of the key words in this mission statement and realize the impact this mandate has.

Exporting certain items from the U.S. to certain places in the world may present a national security risk.  Items used for weapon production can be turned around and used against the U.S. both domestically and abroad.  These concerns drive the creation and updating of the Entity Lists.  It is worth re-iterating that the entity list exists because the BIS and other U.S. Government agencies have found cause to believe that somehow, those on the list may be a risk or related to something that poses a threat to our national security.

It is also important to note that just because a person/group/organization is on the entity list, it doesn’t necessarily prohibit trade with them.  However, it does raise the flag and compel the trade professional to ensure that due diligence is exercised in vetting the person/group/organization and determining what regulatory steps should be taken and appropriate authorization obtained in order to legally proceed to trade with those on the entity list.

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While things are constantly changing these days it is imperative that we remain vigilant and attuned to all the changes going on around the world.  BIS is a key U.S. Government Agency charged with being an integral instrument of protecting the United States.  The JAS USA Inc. Compliance Team understands the BIS mandate and are always willing to assist.  Contact us and we will help!

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