Q. Do US ITAR controls really apply to non-US companies?
A. In an academic, legal sense it can be argued that they do not. However, commercial reality is that the
US Government can and does impose penalties on non-US individuals and companies. The ultimate sanction, commercially,
is being placed on a denial list; meaning that no US person can do business with your company.
Q. Can a non-US company apply for a US export license?
A. It depends. Under ITAR, US export licenses can be applied for only by a 'US person'. If
you have a US subsidiary (or parent), that company can apply for licences but must have a US citizen employee to act as an
'empowered official'.
A non-US company can request re-export approval from the Department of State by means of a General Correspondence request
but it is preferable to have the US exporter make the request, on the original license at the time of application if possible.
Under EAR, non-US companies can themselves register to use the electronic licensing system SNAP-R and make their own
applications to the Department of Commerce.
