OMB Approves 3 BIS Space Related Rulemakings – 10-11-24

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved three rulemakings from the DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). Those rulemakings are:

0694-AH66 - Export Administration Regulations: Revisions to Space-Related Export Controls, Including Addition of License Exception Commercial Space Activities (CSA) – Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM),

0694-AJ87 - Export Administration Regulations: Revisions to Space-Related Export Controls for Changes Made Under Commerce Authorities – Interim final Rule (IFR), and

0694-AJ85 - Export Administration Regulations: Removal of License Requirements for Certain Spacecraft and Related Items for Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom – Final rule.

Only one of these rulemakings, the first one, was published in the Spring 2024 Unified Agenda. According to that entry:

“As part of its work with the National Space Council, the Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce requested public comment to inform its review of the controls implemented in recent revisions to Categories IV and XV of the United States Munitions List (USML) and the related transfer of items to the Department of Commerce's Commerce Control List (CCL) in an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking published on March 8, 2019. These items include launch vehicles, guided missiles, ballistic missiles, rockets, torpedoes, bombs, and mines; and spacecraft and related articles. BIS's review seeks to ensure that the CCL describes these items clearly, captures those items in normal commercial use, accounts for technological developments, and implements the national security and foreign policy objectives of the United States properly.  This proposed rule implements changes identified in response to the comments received on the March 8 ANPRM and subsequent review by the Department of Commerce and other agencies involved in the review process.”

I probably will not be covering any of these three rulemakings in any depth. At the very least though, under my ‘new’ Space Geek coverage, I will be announcing the publication of these rules in the appropriate edition of my ‘Short Takes’ post.