EAR Decision Tree
This Decision Tree allows you to answer a short series of YES or NO questions to determine whether you have a potential issue under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
Please use the EAR Tree for any research project where you are transferring items or technologies outside the United States or where foreign nationals (including graduate students at Cornell) are involved.
The EAR broadly regulate the export and re-export of commercial items, and related software and technologies, that could have both civilian and military applications, including certain chemicals; human, animal and plant pathogens; lasers; computers, GPS, semiconductors, and other electronics; and information security and telecommunications items.
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It is best to use the Tree and identify issues at the start of your research project or whenever an interaction arises between your project and a foreign country or foreign national.
Technical problems in using this Tree should be reported to Web Support.
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This Decision Tree will help you determine whether your research involves one of the following activities controlled by the Export Administration Regulations (EAR):
- Transferring controlled technology to a foreign national in the United States;
- Transferring controlled technology to anyone, even a U.S. person, located outside the United States; OR
- Transferring (exporting) a controlled item outside the United States.
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The EAR controls a variety of items and technologies, including those related to space and GPS.
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The EAR defines controlled "technology" as "specific information necessary for the 'development,' 'production,' or 'use' of a product."
Technology can be in the form of blueprints, plans, diagrams, models, formulae, tables, engineering designs, and specifications, manuals, and instructions. Technology can be written on paper or recorded on other media or devices such as disk, tape, and read-only memories. It can also be in the form of e-mail, conversations by telephone or in person, presentations at conferences, or other less formal means.
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Technology for the "development" of a controlled item
"is related to all stages prior to serial production such as: design, design research, design analyses, design concepts, assembly and testing of prototypes, pilot production schemes, design data, process of transforming design data into a product, configuration design, integration design, layouts."
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Technology for the "production" of a controlled item
"means all production stages such as: product engineering, manufacture, integration, assembly (mounting), inspection, testing, quality assurance."
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Technology for the "use" of a controlled item means
technology sufficient to allow the recipient to do ALL of the following six activities with the respect to the item in question: "operation, installation (including on-site installation), maintenance (checking), repair, overhaul, and refurbishing."
The mere operation of an item is unlikely to effect a transfer of "use" technology.
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The "_transfer_" of controlled items or technology occurs by shipping, mailing, hand-carrying in pockets or luggage, emailing, or making available for downloading. An item's technology is also transferred by showing, explaining, or allowing visual inspection of the item sufficient to convey information about the item's development or production.
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The EAR defines a "foreign national" as
One who lacks U.S. citizenship or permanent resident alien status (green card) or refugee or asylum status in the United States.
Foreign nationals who have work or student visas are not necessarily U.S. persons.
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Here is a list of potential EAR issues for your project.
No EAR issues have been identified for this project.
If you would like to check on another project please click here.