For those who may have missed it over the busy holiday season, a new method for submitting export and temporary import reporting information for ITAR-controlled articles went into effect as of December 31, 2016. This change was part of the DDTC's efforts to conform reporting requirements to the International Trade Data System "single window" administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in accordance with the SAFE Port Act and Executive Order 13659.
Readers should already be familiar with the "single window," better known as the Automated Commercial Environment ("ACE") that has subsumed AESDirect for the purpose of most of your export filings. Exporters will have been using ACE for their export filings for several months now, so the change to your systems and procedures should be minimal. The revision to the ITAR effective December 31 harmonized those regulations by removing references to AESDirect and replacing them with references to CBP electronic filings and systems.
In theory this should make filing the appropriate reports for export of ITAR-controlled articles easier. Using the single window, an exporter of ITAR-controlled goods reports the required information to CBP via ACE, and CBP relays the relevant and necessary information directly to the DDTC. There is no need for the exporter to notify DDTC directly. This should help to eliminate confusion as to which reports must go to which government entity, and also eliminate the cost and burden of duplicative reporting requirements.
Exporters should note, however, that this does not eliminate all your requirements to correspond with the DDTC. You will still need to ensure you are obtaining the appropriate licenses for your ITAR-controlled exports, and ensuring your registration remains current. The new rule also did not amend any part of 22 CFR part 130, so your reporting requirements related to fees and commissions remains unchanged, for now.
As always, when in doubt, consult your export compliance attorney to ensure you are acting in accordance with the ITAR and all other export compliance laws and regulations.