U.S. agencies cooperate on export licensing

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 2/1/2001

Exporters have long complained about the patchwork of approvals they often must obtain from various federal government agencies in order to sell their products outside the country. In addition to approval by the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA), which is part of the U.S Department of Commerce, some commodities also require approval by the State Department and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). In such cases, exporters must provide multiple copies of documentation to each agency. The agencies do not have standardized or compatible information systems for managing export licenses, so when information sharing is necessary, they are only able to do so manually.

A new initiative spearheaded by the DoD seeks to eliminate those inefficiencies. USXPORTS is an interagency program that has five objectives: to establish a standard electronic interface between exporters and government agencies, to improve the quality of license reviews that protect military capabilities, to improve and standardize data and systems architecture among government agencies, to accelerate the licensing process, and to ensure the process is secure. The program has received full funding of $30 million for three years.

The interagency office that has responsibility for the project will focus on developing software and re-engineering processes as well as managing integration with existing systems. The DoD expects the project to be completed during Fiscal Year 2003.