The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has published a web notice on Chemical Agent Resistant Coatings (CARC):
Web Notice: Category XIV(f)(7), including Chemical Agent Resistant Coatings (CARC): (11.01.17)
Consistent with 81 FR 49531 (July 28, 2016), Category XIV(f)(7) defense articles are designated as Significant Military Equipment. Accordingly, any application to export Category XIV(f)(7) defense articles requires a DSP-83 non-transfer and use certificate.
The notice is consistent with the organization of the United States Munitions List (USML) where all of Category XIV(f) is designated Significant Military Equipment (SME), but reverses long-standing policies, including those announced in September 2009 and February 2017 web notices.
Specifically, XIV(f)(7) controls “Chemical Agent Resistant Coatings that have been qualified to military specifications (MIL-PRF-32348, MIL-DTL-64159, MIL-C-46168, or MIL-DTL-53039).”
A related Export Control Reform (ECR) FAQ continues to state that application of Chemical Agent Resistant Coatings (CARC) does not necessarily subject an item to the USML:
Q: Chemical Agent Resistant Coating (CARC) in its most basic form is controlled under USML Category XIV(f)(5). When it is applied to an item subject to either the ITAR or EAR, will the item to which it is being applied now be controlled as Category XIV(f)(5)? To the USML, at a minimum?
A: No. CARC coating on an item, in and of itself, does not provide a military capability warranting USML control. Hence, items that are subject to the EAR and classified on the Commerce Control List, to include vehicles and equipment, do not become subject to the ITAR simply due to the application of CARC paint.
The 2009 and 2017 web notices stated that “CARC paint does not possess ‘substantial military utility or capability,’” but ongoing Export Control Reform (ECR) revisions have not yet removed the SME designation from XIV(f)(7).
I cannot locate the related ECR FAQ on the DDTC web page. Do you think it is because XIV(f)(5) is now reserved or because the answer is no longer applicable?
It looks like DDTC deleted the 2009 and 2017 web notices as well as the ECR FAQ after the blog post was published. On the ECR FAQ page there is still a link for “XIV Toxicological Agents,” but it doesn’t go anywhere. The ECR FAQ’s reference to XIV(f)(5) predated a revision to Category XIV. Hopefully we will see an update on this as the policy for post-application CARC is different from the requirement for a DSP-83.