It is important to understand that export control is not just about moving product.  Export control is also a service such as consulting, training, speaking at conferences, and more.

Export

Goods and services produced in one country and sold in other countries in exchange for goods and services, gold, foreign exchange, or settlement of debt. Countries devote their domestic resources to exports because they can obtain more goods and services with the international exchange they earn from the exports than they would from devoting the same resources to the domestic production of goods and services.

Export Controls 

U.S. laws and their implementing regulations that govern the distribution to foreign nationals and foreign countries of strategically important technology, services, and information for reasons of foreign policy and national security.

Fundamental Research

Because the University embraces the concepts of academic freedom and open publication and dissemination of research findings and results, the export control regulations present unique challenges. Fortunately, both the EAR and the ITAR exclude fundamental research from the requirements of the regulations.

Fundamental research is defined as "basic and applied research in science and engineering conducted at an institution of higher learning in the United States where the resulting information is ordinarily published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from research the results of which are restricted for proprietary reasons or specific U.S. Government access and dissemination controls." Information which is publicly available also is excluded from the purview of the export control regulations. To guarantee the application of these exclusions, researchers should publish their findings to the fullest extent possible and should not agree to confidentiality clauses or other terms that restrict the dissemination of research materials and results.

The fundamental research and public domain exclusions do not apply to tangible items that are being taken or shipped outside of the U.S. In such cases, those items must be analyzed to determine whether they are subject to export controls. 

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