Today, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 33 parties based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the Unverified List (UVL). “The ability to verify the legitimacy and reliability of foreign parties receiving U.S. exports through the timely completion of end-use checks is a core principle of our export control system,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod.
“Today’s addition of 33 parties in the PRC to the Unverified List will assist U.S. exporters in conducting due diligence and assessing transaction risk, and signal to the PRC government the importance of their cooperation in scheduling end-use checks.” BIS is taking this action because it is unable to establish the bona fides – i.e., legitimacy and reliability relating to the end use or end user of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) – of these parties for reasons outside of the U.S. Government’s control, which may include an inability to contact or locate the party, failure by the party to appropriately demonstrate the disposition of items subject to the EAR, or lack of cooperation by a host government with BIS’s conduct of end-use checks.
Listing on the UVL does not mean that U.S. exporters cannot engage with listed parties or that there are specific, articulable national security or foreign policy concerns with those parties. However, transactions with parties on the UVL require, among other things, additional documentation, including a statement from authorized officials of listed parties, and such transactions are not eligible for authorization pursuant to EAR license exceptions. The UVL (supplement no. 6 to part 744) is one of several lists, including the Entity List (supplement no. 4 to part 744) and the Military End User List (supplement no. 7 to part 744), administered and maintained by BIS. These lists inform U.S. exporters and the general public of end-users that are of concern for various reasons, and that are subject to specific requirements or prohibitions in the EAR.
