Export Licenses, Standards and Economic Sanctions
Last Published: 9/28/2016

Some exports require an Export License before you can ship your product. Some foreign countries have standards that you should be aware of. Lastly, there are some countries that you cannot sell to. Use this section as a primer to familiarize yourself with the licenses, standards, and legal considerations that may apply to your product(s).

Export Licenses
Learn when you need an Export License and from whom in order to ship your products from the United States. Export licenses are issued for individual transactions determined by the product, the country, the end-use and the end-user.

Foreign Trade Regulations
The Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), Title 15, Part 30, are the guidelines for reporting Electronic Export Information in the Automated Export System. The FTR is used to collect national export statistics and is also used for law enforcement purposes.

Global Reach Blog
Global Reach is the official blog of the Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census Bureau. The blog has several posts related to the Foreign Trade Regulations and maintaining export compliance.

Foreign Standards and Certification Information
Many foreign countries have their own standards and import certification requirements on things like: product standards, certification requirements, electricity regulations, packaging and recycling laws and quality expectations. If you want to sell your product in foreign markets you should be aware of these Foreign Standards and Certification Requirements.

Economic Sanctions
Learn how the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Department of Treasury enforces Economic Sanctions on specific countries based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals, which are set forth by Congress.

Bribery, Extortion, and Facilitation
Bribery of foreign government officials is prohibited by the U.S. under the “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.” Increasingly, more countries have adopted the UN Convention Against Corruption which provides similar anti-bribery provisions.
Extortion and facilitation payments are not the same as bribery and are not covered by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or the U.N. Convention Against Corruption.

Prepared by the International Trade Administration. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.