Commerce Department Expands Export Control List

This July, the U.S. Department of Commerce ("Commerce" or "the Department") added several European surveillance firms plying commercial spyware to its export control list. The firms at issue are Cytrox, which is based in Hungary, and Intellexa, which has Greek origins. Two associated companies from Macedonia and Ireland have also been added to the export control list.

These additions are only the newest on Commerce's list. The Department made several other important additions to rules that went effective on May 19:

• Concerning industrial items, including 1224 new products, will now require a license for export, re-export, and transfer to or within Russia or Belarus. These items include various electronics, instruments, agricultural machinery, and advanced fibers to reinforce composite materials, such as carbon fibers. That being said, the Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) "will generally review license applications for certain items that are