H.R. 8288 — Strengthening Export Controls Compliance Act

This section states congressional findings concerning requirements under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 for the Secretary of Commerce to (1) establish a system to assist United States persons in complying with export controls and keep the public apprised of related changes; (2) report annually to Congress on compliance assistance efforts, including for small- and medium-sized businesses; and (3) hold, through the Bureau of Industry and Security, an annual update conference on export controls to provide compliance guidance and regulatory updates.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that (1) it is critical for U.S. national security and technological leadership that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the Department of Commerce consistently inform and educate U.S. businesses on evolving export control regulations and their implementation; and (2) BIS seminars and trainings are a valuable resource for U.S. businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises lacking large compliance departments.

This section revises compliance assistance provisions under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4816) to direct the following for U.S. persons, especially small- and medium-sized businesses, subject to export licensing by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS): (1) requires the President, every two years, to submit to Congress an industry outreach plan, including Department of Commerce counseling on license applications and controlled items; proposals for trainings, seminars, and conferences on export controls and BIS procedures; and other compliance activities such as reviews of company plans and consultations; (2) requires the Secretary of Commerce to host an annual “Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy,” listed on the BIS website and open to the public, for compliance assistance and policy updates; and (3) requires BIS, prior to promulgating major new rules, to conduct public and industry outreach on the rules’ intent and implementation to strengthen compliance.

This section revises the annual report required under Section 1765(a) of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 as follows: (1) strikes “a review of” from the introductory matter preceding paragraph (1); (2) inserts “a detailed list of” before “efforts” in paragraph (4); (3) strikes “and” at the end of paragraph (8); (4) replaces the period at the end of paragraph (9) with “; and”; and (5) adds paragraph (10) requiring information on Advisory Opinion and Commodity Classification requests (i.e., Bureau of Industry and Security processes providing exporters guidance on export controls), including the number submitted, the number issued, average processing times by category, and the number of redacted Advisory Opinions of general applicability posted.