International Trade Law News

Today's Space Review reports on the recently concluded Space Access '07 annual conference on the technology, politics and business of cheaper space transportation. Not surprisingly, export controls was high on the list of topics discussed. The article correctly observes the unique challenges faced by space entrepreneurs, namely that:

"for these smaller companies and even hobbyists, the problems are exacerbated by the fact that they rarely have employees dedicated to export control work, unlike larger firms, and sometimes may not even be aware of when ITAR applies.

'It’s a monster pain in the neck,' said Randall Clague, whose duties at XCOR Aerospace include export control compliance. During a panel at the conference about export control, he described having to go around the company’s facility on a regular basis, looking for papers left out in workspaces that might have sensitive information and marking them with a stamp labeled 'ITAR' as a reminder that the paper should be secured. 'I feel like a babysitter. It’s just stupid.'"

Sound familiar? If not, and you are in the business of producing space or military equipment, then you better be sure to pay an immediate visit to the Directorate of Defense Trade Control's registration site and determine whether your company needs to register with DDTC or not. You may be in for a surprise.