On February 4, 2019, US Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) released a new electronic submission software for Advisory Opinions, called Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS). Persons requesting an Advisory Opinion (Applicants) can apply for an account in DECCS. Applicants that are currently DTrade Super Users with a valid email address on file with DDTC will automatically be enrolled in DECCS as Corporate Administrators. These Super Users should have received a DECCS activation email in February 2019. Applicants can submit Advisory Opinions for Sections 126.9 (a), 126.9 (c) and 129.9 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). All other requests should be submitted to DDTC via mail.
Advisory Opinion requests submitted to the DDTC receive one of the following:
- Indication of whether or not a particular license for export of defense articles or defense services to a specific country will likely be approved, (ITAR Section 126.9 (a))
- Interpretation of the ITAR (ITAR Section 126.9 (c))
- Guidance on whether an activity constitutes a brokering activity under the ITAR (ITAR Section 129.9)
Although a good indication of how DDTC will act on a future request, responses to Advisory Opinions requests are not binding on the US State Department and may not be used in future matters before the Department. The future of DDTC lives in DECCS. DDTC plans to allow Applicants to apply for licenses, update registrations, submit Commodity Jurisdictions (CJ) requests and submit disclosures with DECCS. These other functions should go live later in 2019. For more information about DECCS, refer to DDTC’s webpage.
This post is an excerpt of our US-EU: Export Controls and Sanctions Update, January – March 2019.
