Entities of proliferation concern listed in
Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of the
Export Administration Regulations.

Background

Since February of this year, the Federal Register has published several Commerce Department rules which added entities to the Entity List, a listing of foreign end users involved in proliferation activities. The Entity List is based on the Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative (EPCI), which has been implemented in the Export Administration Regulations. General Prohibition Five of the EAR prohibits exports to certain end-users or end-uses without a license. BXA maintains, in the form of Supplement 4 to the Part 744, an "Entity List" to provide notice informing the public of certain entities subject to such licensing requirements.

These end users have been determined to present an unacceptable risk of diversion to developing weapons of mass destruction or the missiles used to deliver those weapons. Publishing this list puts exporters on notice that any products sold to these end users may present concerns and will require a license from the Bureau of Export Administration. While this list will assist exporters in determining whether an entity poses proliferation concerns, it is not comprehensive. It does not relieve exporters of the responsibility to determine the nature and activities of their potential customers using BXA's Know Your Customer and Red Flags guidance.

Interagency groups involved in the export control process reviewed the activities of the published entities of concern and determined that exports to these entities would create an unacceptable risk of use in or diversion to prohibited proliferation-related activities. Publishing this entities list allows the U.S. government to identify for U.S. businesses some of the organizations and companies that may be involved in proliferation activities.

The development of a list of entities of concern arises from the EPCI initiative begun in 1990 to stem the spread of missile technology as well as nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Under EPCI the Commerce Department can impose licensing requirements on exports and reexports of normally uncontrolled goods and technology where there is an unacceptable risk of use in or diversion to activities related to nuclear, chemical or biological weapons or missile proliferation, even if the end user is not primarily weapons-related.

The Bureau of Export Administration requires an export license for otherwise uncontrolled items subject to the Export Administration Regulations before allowing shipments to these end users because of risk use in or diversion to prohibited proliferation activities.

The Regulatory Background:

The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) provide that the Bureau of Export Administration may inform exporters, individually or through amendment to the EAR, that a license is required for exports or reexports to certain entities. The EAR contains a list of such entities, known as the entities list.

ENTITY LIST
(Supplement No. 4, Part 744)
(October 1, 1997)

This Supplement lists certain entities subject to license requirements for specified items under this part 744 of the EAR. This list of entities is revised and updated on a periodic basis in this Supplement by adding new or amended notifications and deleting notifications no longer in effect.