United States: US Department Of State Announces Second Extension Of ITAR Compliance Relief

On December 10, 2020, the US Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) announced that it was, for the second time, extending temporary relief measures with respect to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). As discussed in our previous Advisory, the measures primarily focus on the continued need for remote working environments. Specifically, the following relief will remain in effect until June 30, 2021:

• Temporarily, Contract Employees Do Not Need to Work at a Company's Facilities to Qualify as "Regular Employees." Contract employees are permitted to work remotely and still qualify as regular employees for purposes of ITAR licensing and authorizations, as long as the contract employee is not located in Russia or a country listed in 22 C.F.R. § 126.1.
• Temporarily, Regular Employees Working With Data Transferred Under an ITAR Agreement Can Work Remotely in Most Countries Not Expressly Approved by DDTC on the Face of the Agreement. Regular employees of entities who are working remotely in a country not currently authorized by a technical assistance agreement (TAA), manufacturing license agreement (MLA), or exemption to send, receive, or access any technical data authorized for export, reexport, or retransfer to their employer via a TAA, MLA, or exemption, are permitted to work remotely as long as the employee is not located in Russia or a country listed in ITAR § 126.1.

As with its previous relief efforts, DDTC stated that the measures were necessary because it appears that social distancing policies will remain in place for the foreseeable future. However, DDTC also noted the second extension is "necessary to provide time for DDTC to consider a permanent revision related to remote work." DDTC anticipates soliciting public comment on proposed revisions to the ITAR "in the coming months." Therefore, interested parties should watch carefully for the opportunity to permanently shape ITAR remote work requirements.

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