The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS” or “the agency”) has published a set of best practices for exporting nine products on the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (“HTS”) drawn from the agency’s List of Common High Priority Items. The nine HTS codes have been categorized by BIS as the ‘highest priority’ items that exporters should pay careful attention to when conducting transactions that have a potential likelihood of being diverted to Russia. The best practices outline what kind of information exporters should request from their customers prior to the transaction. To facilitate this information gathering, BIS included a sample certification form in the best practices that exporters can provide to their customers. BIS notes that these best practices are not intended to replace end-user statements or similar customer certifications that exporters may already be using, but that exporters should carefully review this new guidance and determine if it can be used to fill any gaps in existing export documentation processes.
The nine products all come from HTS Chapter 85:
- 8542.31 – Electronic integrated circuits: Processors and controllers, whether or not combined with memories, convertors, logic circuits, amplifiers, clock and timing circuits, or other circuits;
- 8542.32 – Electronic integrated circuits: Memories;
- 8542.33 – Electronic integrated circuits: Amplifiers;
- 8542.39 – Electronic integrated circuits: Other;
- 8517.62 – Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images, or other data, including switching and routing apparatus;
- 8526.91 – Radar apparatus, radio navigational aid apparatus and radio remote control apparatus: Radio navigational aid apparatus;
- 8532.21 – Other fixed capacitors: Tantalum capacitors;
- 8532.24 – Other fixed capacitors: Ceramic dielectric, multilayer; and
- 8548.00 – Electrical parts of machinery or apparatus, not specified or included elsewhere in Chapter 85.
The publication of these best practices follows joint guidance recently issued by the governments of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, which identified the nine HTS codes included in the best practices. The joint guidance is representative of the broader multilateral efforts of the U.S. and its allies to prevent the diversion of certain products to Russia that could ultimately be used in weapons and weapons systems.
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