On June 1, 2021, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notification regarding a transfer of jurisdiction of certain software and technology involved in the manufacturing, exporting, importing, or brokering of defense services created with 3D printing technology.  The change in jurisdiction comes after the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a March 2020 preliminary injunction that blocked a State Department rule removing this technology from the U.S. Munitions List (USML) and control of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

New Regulations

Now that the March 2020 injunction has been vacated, this type of technology is governed by US Department of Commerce regulations (15 CFR 732.2(b) and 734.7(c)).  BIS provided a list of FAQs to help the public understand this transfer of jurisdiction on its website, and encourages any person unsure whether their technology falls in this category to use BIS’s online submission system for an official classification.