U.S. Department of Commerce
Bureau of Industry and Security
Regulatory Policy Division
Room H2705
14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
RE: Comments on Proposed Rule – Authorization to Impose License Requirements for Exports or Reexports to Entities Acting Contrary to the National Security or Foreign Policy Interests of the United States
Dear Sir or Madam,
The Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control submits the following comments in response to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s June 5, 2007, Proposed Rule (72 Fed. Reg. 31005), which proposes to expand the scope of reasons for which BIS may add parties to the Entity List.
The Project is a non-profit organization that conducts outreach and public education to inhibit the proliferation of mass destruction weapons and their means of delivery. For more than twenty years, the Project has pursued its mission by advocating strong and effective export and transit controls worldwide. The Project commends the Commerce Department for considering measures to strengthen the Entity List, and supports the proposed change in principle. However, additional actions are necessary to ensure that the List serves its original, intended function as a key nonproliferation tool in the U.S. dual-use export control system.
In the Proposed Rule, BIS seeks authorization to add to the Entity List entities that BIS has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable facts, have been, are or pose a risk of being involved in activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States, or those acting on behalf of such entities. This would be a broad and beneficial control, allowing BIS to conduct more prior reviews of exports to risky end-users. In particular, BIS should use the proposed new Section 744.11 to impose export license requirements on entities that have been targeted for nonproliferation-related reasons by other agencies of the U.S. government, and by foreign governments, in cases where other sections in Part 744 do not already allow inclusion of such entities on the Entity List. This approach would become another tool allowing BIS to work with its counterparts within and outside the U.S. government to ensure that entities of proliferation concern worldwide are denied access to controlled goods and technologies.
To read the complete letter, click here: 
Comments on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Proposal Concerning the Entity List