Deemed Exports and Research Community Support

In an extensive article with photographs, a leading regional newspaper reported on July 11, 2006 that the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, and the Commerce Department's Office of Export Enforcement were investigating possible violations of the Arms Export Control Act by a retired professor of engineering and senior researcher in ITAR-controlled military UAV technology at an important U.S. university. Numerous items, including laboratory materials, were removed under search warrants. The researcher's laptop computer and various other items were seized as he reentered the USA after teaching at two universities in China. The researcher was quoted as saying that he and his colleagues "knew there was such a thing as an export control act," but "weren't sure what the details were."

The 21st-Century academic environment now includes students, teachers and researchers from throughout the world. Freedom of inquiry and freedom to conduct fundamental research are major elements of U.S. culture and a major commitment of the United States Government. Yet with political and security concerns arising from the events of September 11, 2001 and from proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), governments are looking closely at technology transfer within major research institutions, including both the university community and national laboratories such as those operated by the U.S. Defense and Energy Departments. In Japan, the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is engaged in a program of tech-transfer outreach to leading Japanese academic and research institutions.

In the USA, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security first published - and then withdrew - a controversial proposed rulemaking on so-called deemed exports to "foreign nationals", i.e., to individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor holders of Green Cards nor protected refugees. But as it withdrew the deemed-exports rulemaking, the BIS simultaneously announced the creation of a blue-ribbon deemed-exports advisory committee or DEAC. This 12-person special committee with a one-year term will be "a balanced representation of views among business executives, university administrators, and other experts in the field."

MK Technology is active in this arena, assisting clients throughout the world in licensing and in Internal Compliance and other Technology Control plans within both industry and academia. Our ceo, Terry Murphy, recently completed a four-year term on the BIS advisory committee on Regulations and Procedures (RPTAC) that deals extensively with this subject. With a former Deputy Secretary of Defense, he co-chaired the National Academy of Science workshop (web-cast worldwide) on the controversial BIS "deemed exports" rule; with experts from the BIS and a world-famous U.S. university he also led a 90-minute audio conference on the subject. As a Senior Associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, he helped to draft the CSIS/NAS White Paper on "Scientific Communication and National Security" that was filed in the BIS deemed-exports rulemaking.

Several members of MK Technology are closely engaged in "deemed exports", including extensive client training. They handle "dual-use" licensing and compliance work for small, medium and large enterprises throughout the world, and often work extensively in support of outside counsel for clients where problems are revealed. Dr. Steven Goldman joined MK in March 2007 he was a BIS senior executive with responsibilities encompassing nonproliferation export controls including intangible technology transfers and other aspects of deemed exports. Mike Turner joined MK in April upon retirement as a BIS senior executive and Director of Export Enforcement with worldwide responsibility enforcing violations of BIS deemed-export rules. Frank Cevasco of Cevasco International also joined MK in April; he is a leading consultant to the global defense industry and was a senior executive with the U.S. Defense Department for over two years. Russ VanDegrift designs and oversees internal controls with clients in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and throughout the USA; he joined MK in 2005 after twenty years in Raytheon, TRW and Northrop Grumman. Kay Morrell was outside counsel on ITAR matters to a leading research university before joining MK in 2004. He specializes in licensing, training and compliance work. Click here for more about MK Technology's services or contact our ceo, Terry Murphy.