Meshkat Law provides export controls compliance counseling focused on the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). We help clients navigate practical questions around jurisdiction, classification, licensing triggers, and restricted party risks in the context of cross-border trade, technology transfers, day-to-day operations, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and investment due diligence.
Our work is grounded in the realities of how companies actually move products, software, and technology, whether through physical shipments, cloud-based services, or multinational R&D and engineering teams. We also design, enhance, and support export compliance programs (ECPs) that align with BIS expectations and industry best practices, integrating policies, controls, and training into existing business processes.
The services below reflect some of the most common ways we help clients manage export controls compliance under the EAR, from foundational program design to issue-specific counseling and training.
We advise on EAR jurisdiction and classification questions, including whether items are subject to the EAR, how they map to the Commerce Control List (CCL), and when EAR99 treatment is appropriate. Our work includes helping clients develop classification strategies, assess potential licensing triggers based on destination, end use, and end user, prepare legal opinions on complex EAR questions, and determine when to seek license authorization, commodity classification support, or formal advisory opinions from BIS.
We design, enhance, and support export compliance programs (ECPs) that align with BIS’s “Eight Elements of an Effective Export Compliance Program” and current industry benchmarking for export controls compliance, including where EAR requirements intersect with OFAC sanctions programs. Our work focuses on tailoring program structure, controls, and documentation to each client’s products, markets, and organizational structure so that export controls compliance is integrated into day-to-day operations in a way that is realistic for the business.
An effective export compliance program can significantly mitigate potential penalties in enforcement actions brought by BIS.
EAR compliance gaps can lead to violations, monetary and criminal penalties, and reputational harm. We help clients evaluate their export controls compliance exposure to the EAR through targeted risk assessments and audit support. We conduct export controls risk assessments that evaluate how the EAR applies across a client’s products, markets, and business models, identifying where classification, licensing, or screening gaps may create elevated exposure. The risk assessment informs targeted recommendations to tailor and strengthen the compliance program to address identified risk areas.
We assist clients with their export controls compliance audits to test how their compliance controls perform in practice and to identify any gaps or issues that should be addressed.
We also advise on export controls risk assessments and targeted reviews in the M&A context, assessing potential EAR-related liabilities, legacy practices, and integration considerations as part of broader diligence and post-closing remediation.
Proper training is critical to having an effective export compliance program. We develop and deliver export controls training tailored to specific audiences within an organization based on their respective needs, including legal, compliance, sales, logistics, and R&D. Training can cover core EAR concepts, company-specific procedures, red flags, and recent regulatory developments, with an emphasis on helping non-lawyers recognize when to escalate issues and how export controls intersect with OFAC-administered sanctions programs.
We advise clients on BIS restricted-party screening, escalation, and internal investigations relating to potential issues under the EAR. When potential matches or other red flags are escalated within an organization—including situations that may also implicate OFAC sanctions programs—we help assess the underlying facts, evaluate exposure under the EAR, and determine whether and how a transaction can proceed, be modified, or should be declined.
We also assist with internal investigations relating to potential issues under the EAR, including reviewing transaction histories, communications, and controls to understand what occurred and what it means from a regulatory perspective. Based on those findings, we provide recommendations on remedial measures, program adjustments, and—where appropriate—how to position the matter for potential interaction with BIS or other U.S. government stakeholders.
The following matters are representative of the Export Controls Compliance work handled by our attorney.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
U.S. law does not mandate organizations to have their own sanctions or export controls-related compliance program. However, businesses subject to U.S. jurisdiction under relevant OFAC administered sanctions laws and regulations, wherever located, must comply. In addition, businesses dealing in items (i.e., commodities, software, and technology) subject to BIS’s Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and/or DDTC’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) must comply with the respective regulations, wherever located. Therefore, businesses should take a risk-based approach to compliance based on a variety of factors, including their respective size, sophistication, products and services, customers and counter-parties, geographic locations, and other operational idiosyncrasies.
An organization’s sanctions and/or export compliance program, including applicable procedures and controls, will be designed and updated based on its respective risk profile. The existence and adequacy (or lack thereof) of such compliance programs can act as a mitigating or aggravating factor in the event of an enforcement response for any potential violations of relevant laws and regulations.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) administers and enforces the nation’s economic sanctions programs, based on various statutes and executive orders, including against entire countries, their governments, geographic regions, and groups of individuals or entities. The sanctions can include the full blocking of the sanctioned target’s assets and/or various trade restrictions.
U.S. export controls are primarily administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC).
BIS administers the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which regulate the export, reexport, and transfer (in-country) of most commercial items of U.S.-origin (“dual-use” items), wherever located, and imposes licensing requirements depending on their intended end-user, end-use, and/or destination. The EAR’s jurisdiction and licensing requirements can also extend to foreign-made items depending on the involvement or incorporation of U.S.-origin goods, technology, and software, as well as their intended end-user, end-use, and/or destination.
DDTC administers the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which regulates the export, reexport, and transfer of primarily defense articles and defense services.
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Jurisdiction, Classification, and Licensing Analysis