3 June 2015

Comments Needed on Revisions of US Export Rules

Joel Parriott American Astronomical Society (AAS)

The US Departments of State and Commerce recently issued proposed changes to export control regulations covering optical equipment, including certain types of imaging detector arrays and image intensifier tubes. The proposed changes involve US Munitions List (USML) Category XII, which governs the commodities covered by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

Some in the optics and photonics community have expressed concerns with these changes, worried that they will hamper the global competitiveness of US industry. Our sister society, SPIE: The International Society for Optics and Photonics, organized an informational webinar on 12 May and has now posted a presentation from that webinar, along with notes from the Q&A session, online:

Additional details about the proposed changes are available at these two URLs:

The Department of Commerce is accepting comments on the proposed new Category XII rules through 6 July. More information, including a template for comments, is available from SPIE.

We welcome your input and questions at [email protected].