Export Control

Lynn University is committed to full compliance with the laws and regulations of the United States addressing the export of certain goods, information, technology and services that are restricted for reasons relating to U.S. national security, economic interests, and foreign policy goals. This Policy is designed to provide guidance to University employees, students and other applicable members of the University community in the application of and compliance with the various complex U. S. Export Control laws.

It is the responsibility of all University employees, students and applicable community members to be familiar with this Policy and aware of export control laws that might apply to their activities, and to comply with those laws and University policy and procedures.

The export of certain technologies, software, and hardware is regulated and controlled by federal law for reasons of national security, foreign policy, prevention of the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and for competitive trade reasons. Export control laws require that a license be obtained prior to providing controlled technologies to foreign nationals from restricted countries. The following is a non-exhaustive list of situations that might trigger export control regulations:

• Shipping tangible items internationally;
• Sharing proprietary, confidential, or otherwise restricted information or software code with foreign nationals at a university or destinations outside the U.S.;
• Interactions with countries or organizations/individuals from a country currently subject to sanctions or embargo (see http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx);
• Hand carrying laptops, cell phones containing microprocessors and equipment while traveling to a foreign destination; and
• Exporting or importing items that have been designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for a military application.

In addition, the trade sanctions/embargo regulations have additional requirements restricting transferring of “items of value” to sanctioned countries.

Many of the activities conducted by a University’s employees, students or community members are exempt from these complex regulations. The federal regulations generally provide an exemption from export controls for basic or applied academic research that is published in the public domain and shared with the general research community. This broad exemption is commonly referred to as the “Fundamental Research Exemption”. This exemption provides that the conduct, products and results of fundamental research are to proceed largely unfettered by deemed export restrictions. Research that carries access, participation, or dissemination restrictions, however, will typically not qualify for the fundamental research exemption.

Notwithstanding research exemptions, in any of the circumstances listed above, or under other circumstances where there is a question whether export control laws might apply, the University requires its employees, students, and other applicable members of the University community to confer with the University’s Office of the General Counsel to determine the applicability of export control laws and regulations (including the applicability of any exclusion or exemption) prior to the export, traveling to the country, and/or entering into any negotiations or agreements with the country, entity or person. Failure to comply export control laws and regulations may result in criminal and civil penalties (incarceration and fines), as well as sanctions (fines, loss of research funding and/or export privileges) for the University. In addition, the failure to comply with this Policy may result in University discipline for the affected employee, student or University community member.

Export- means (a) an actual shipment or transmittal of items (such as equipment, hazardous material, or technology) controlled under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) or International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to persons and entities outside of the U.S.; or (b) any written, oral or visual release or disclosure of controlled technology, information or software to a Foreign Person either in the U.S. or outside the U.S.; or (c) any actual use or application of controlled technology on behalf of or for the benefit of any foreign entity or person anywhere.

Foreign Person- means any person, corporation, business association, partnership, trust, society or any other entity or group that is not incorporated or organized to do business in the U.S. as well as international organizations, foreign governments and any agency or subdivision of foreign governments (e.g., diplomatic missions), and anyone who is not a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. (i.e., a green card holder) or who does not have refugee or asylum status in the U.S.

EAR- means the Export Administration Regulations written and promulgated by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Department of Commerce. See gpo.gov.

ITAR- means the International Traffic in Arms Regulations written and promulgated by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), Department of State. See pmddtc.state.gov.

OFAC Regulations- means regulations promulgated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Department of the Treasury. See treasury.gov.

The three main export control regulators are:

• The Department of Commerce, through BIS, for “dual-use” (i.e., used both in military or commercial applications) and commercial goods, information and technology under the EAR. Dual-use items are listed on the Commerce Control List (CCL), which can be found in the EAR: gpo.gov.
• The Department of State, through the DDTC, for defense technologies and services under the ITAR. Defense technologies are listed on the U.S. Munitions List (USML), which can be found in the ITAR: pmddtc.state.gov.
• The Department of the Treasury through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for economic sanctions and embargoes, under Executive Orders and OFAC Regulations: treasury.gov.
• Other agencies involved in export regulation include the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Justice, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, and Patent and Trademark Office.

In addition, a helpful tool for analyzing exclusions under the EAR for publicly available information is the Questions and Answers – Technology and Software Subject to the EAR which is found in Supplement 1 to part 734 of the EAR (law.justia.com).

For more information about this Policy, please contact Academic Affairs.