New BIS License Screening Tool Expected to Result in More Denials, Official Says
A new automated tool that allows the Bureau of Industry and Security to screen license applications against certain U.S. government intelligence information could lead to an uptick in license denials, a Commerce Department official said.
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“It has been one of the most important improvements we've done,” said the official, speaking this week on the condition of anonymity under a policy for certain career personnel at the BIS annual conference.
The new tool, called the Commerce Screening System, went live in October and allows BIS to automatically screen foreign parties listed in every license application (see 2412100043). BIS previously had to screen against those parties manually, a Commerce official said, and could get to only around 800 applications each year. With the new tool, the agency has so far screened 17,500 applications over the last five months, the official said.
Because more license applications are being screened, BIS is discovering more information that has either caused it to reject more applications or return more applications without action -- which BIS usually does if it needs more information from the applicant. One Commerce official said the agency’s rate of applications that are returned-without-action or denied jumps from 1% to “18% to 20% when it’s involving an intelligence screen.”
“This tool has been instrumental in terms of our ability to make sure that we are not missing transactions just because we didn't get eyes on those transactions as they're coming through the system,” the official said.
Another official said BIS has so far identified more than 840 “unique instances where the intelligence indicated that an application needed further review by a licensing officer” before that officer could make a decision. “It’s already demonstrating real results,” the official said.
The officials also said the BIS Office of Export Enforcement is continuing many of the international cooperation efforts begun under the Biden administration. The agency is specifically “continuing to coordinate our enforcement work” with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. under the Export Enforcement Five, one official said, a group of countries that has met annually over the last several years to discuss Russia-related restrictions (see 2409180035).
The person also noted that BIS officials met last month with counterparts from South Korea and Japan to share export enforcement trends. “We continue to work with our allies and partners to share information, build capacity and establish joint enforcement operations,” the official said.