Laws and Regulations: ITAR
The U.S. Department of State through the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) administers the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (22 CFR §§120-130), or “ITAR,” which regulate items and information inherently military in design, purpose, or use. Referred to as “defense articles,” such items are found on the U.S. Munitions List (USML). This term includes technical data recorded or stored in any physical form, models, mockups, or other items that reveal technical data directly relating to items designated in the USML. It does not include basic marketing information on function or purpose or general system descriptions. As a result of the 1999 Congressional expansion of ITAR jurisdiction, spacecraft and satellites, even if not for military use, are on the USML, along with their associated systems and related equipment. The ITAR further covers Defense Services, which include the furnishing of assistance (including training) to foreign persons, whether or not in the United States, with respect to defense articles, as well as the furnishing of any technical data associated with a defense article.
The USML is divided into 22 categories of controlled items. Within each category is a listing or broad description of the controlled items. The 22 categories of items and defense articles are listed below.
| I | Firearms, Close Assault Weapons, and Combat Shotguns |
| II | Guns and Armament |
| III | Ammunition/Ordinance |
| IV | Launch Vehicles, Guided Missiles, Ballistic Missiles, Rockets, Torpedoes, Bombs, and Mines |
| V | Explosives and Energetic Materials, Propellants, Incendiary Agents, and Their Constituents |
| VI | Vessels of War and Special Naval Equipment |
| VII | Tanks and Military Vehicles |
| VIII | Aircraft and Associated Equipment |
| IX | Military Training Equipment and Training |
| X | Protective Personnel Equipment and Shelters |
| XI | Military Electronics |
| XII | Fire Control, Range Finder, Optical and Guidance and Control Equipment |
| XIII | Auxiliary Military Equipment |
| XIV | Toxicological Agents, Including Chemical Agents, Biological Agents, and Associated Equipment |
| XV | Spacecraft Systems and Associated Equipment |
| XVI | Nuclear Weapons, Design and Testing Related Items |
| XVII | Classified Articles, Technical Data, and Defense Services Not Otherwise Enumerated |
| XVIII | Directed Energy Weapons |
| XIX | [Reserved] |
| XX | Submersible Vessels, Oceanographic and Associated Equipment |
| XXI | Miscellaneous Articles |
Unless a specific exclusion or exemption applies, licenses are required for the export of a USML-listed item.
