The mission of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Export Enforcement (EE) is to protect national security, homeland security, foreign policy, and the economic interests of the United States. BIS EE accomplishes this through a law enforcement program focused on sensitive exports to hostile entities or those that engage in onward proliferation; prohibited foreign boycotts; and related public safety laws. The violations focus on WMD proliferation, support to Terrorism, and unauthorized military end-use of U.S. items. BIS Export Enforcement is a specialized law enforcement organization recognized for its criminal and civil investigative expertise, advanced targeting and leadership, professionalism, integrity, and accomplishments.
In the post-9/11 world, the export control challenge is to enable legitimate global trade in U.S. goods and technology, while keeping these items out of the hands of weapons proliferators and terrorists. BIS addresses this challenge through assisting legitimate export traders to comply with export control and antiboycott requirements, preventing violations before they occur, addressing regulatory issues with the proper civil enforcement tools, and bringing willful criminal violators to justice.
EE works with the Department of Justice to impose criminal sanctions for violations, including incarceration and fines, and with the Office of Chief Counsel for Industry and Security to impose civil fines and denials of export privileges. EE works with a wide array of partner agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security.
EE consists of the Office of Export Enforcement (OEE), the Office of Enforcement Analysis (OEA), and the Office of Antiboycott Compliance (OAC). Together with BIS’s licensing officers and policy staff, EE personnel apply their risk-analysis, targeting, law enforcement expertise, and export control knowledge to prevent and deter illegal exports. Further, we ensure parties involved in U.S. commercial transactions do not engage in prohibited boycott activities.
