7 replies to this topic

[AstroNutella]

Curious if anyone has attempted to seek state department approval for bringing night vision outside the US or would know where to start

 

I am being stationed at a military base in Canada and would like to bring all my astronomy gear with me.

[CharLakeAstro]

I believe it is the State department. This is an ITAR restriction.

 

Start here >>>> https://www.pmddtc.s...lic/ddtc_public

Edited by CharLakeAstro, 28 August 2024 - 07:47 PM.

[sixela]

Frankly, getting a PVS-14 with a Harder tube or an OVNI-M in Canada will be a lot easier than getting an export license for your US gen3 tube.

Edited by sixela, 29 August 2024 - 03:02 AM.

[AstroNutella]

Well they got back to me.  The response was pretty simple, register for an export license for anything on the USML list, which after doing a little searching, nvgs i think are on the list.  Registrations fees are over 2k, so I won't be doing that. After the fee they would still have to approve the license. But at least they answered my question. Response below

 

"First, a note about who we are. We are the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, part of the Department of State. Our regulatory authority is based on the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, commonly referred to as the ITAR Regulations. The ITAR Regulations state that products found on the US Munitions List (USML) fall under our jurisdiction. You can find the full USML in Part 121 of the ITAR regulations, at

https://www.ecfr.gov...pter-M/part-121

The USML includes twenty categories, covering a wide variety of defense and space industries. Category I is “Firearms and Related Articles”; Category II is “Guns and Armament”; and Category III is “Ammunition and Ordnance”.

That said, there was a major change in the regulations in 2020. Effective March 9, 2020, many non-automatic and semi-automatic firearms, their parts/components, and their ammunition, transitioned from our Department of State jurisdiction to that of the US Department of Commerce. For more information on this transition, please see the final rule published by the Department of State on January 23, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 3819) and the notice under "Announcements" on the Home page of our Directorate’s web site. (At this point you will have to scroll back several pages into the Archives to find it.) The Federal Register notice provides the amendments to Categories I, II, and III of the USML. The Department of Commerce and their Export Administration Regulations (EAR) now control the items that were removed from the USML.

Please consult the text of the revised USML Categories I, II, and III if you have any questions about the jurisdiction over the products you intend to export. Note that fully automatic firearms; firearms using caseless ammunition; precision-guided firearms; silencers; high-capacity (more than 50-round) magazines and drums; automatic aiming or stabilization accessories or attachments; certain tracer ammunition; and parts and components specially designed to convert semi-automatic firearms to fully automatic are among the items still described on the USML and still subject to ITAR control.

If you intend to export something – whether it’s firearms, firearms parts/components/attachments, ammunition, or ammunition parts/components -- that is still on the US Munitions List, then your first requirement is to register with our Directorate. This is described in Section 122.1 of the regulations, which you can find at

https://www.ecfr.gov...pter-M/part-122

For guidance on how to register, please see that part of our website.

www.pmddtc.state.gov.

On the Home page, click on “Conduct Business” and then select “Registration”. It’s an annual process, with an annual registration fee.

If you intend to export something that is still on the US Munitions List, then registration is only the first step. Once registered, then you must go on to the second step, which is to apply for the necessary DDTC export permit, or “license” for the transaction in question. For guidance on how to do that, please choose “Conduct Business” again and then select “Licenses & Agreements”. As a general rule, each and every export transaction requires its own separate DDTC export license.

On the other hand, if you intend to export articles that are no longer subject to ITAR controls, you are no longer required to register with, or obtain export authorizations from, the Department of State. For further guidance on the necessary authorizations for products under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, please contact Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security at ECDOEXS@bis.doc.gov.

Please let us know if you have any questions about the above."

[sixela]

NVDs are category XII and didn't transition to de Department of Commerce in 2020, FWIW. So you would indeed have to apply for a temporary export license (when you travel there is no transfer of title to someone else, which makes it a temporary export, assuming you plan to return within 4 years).

 

I bet someone at the DDTC would be scratching their head at such an application, but it could well be granted. You'd have to follow instructions for the paper trail precisely, they'd definitely want to make sure that the item gets back to the US, and you'd want to make sure the U.S. Customs and Border Protection checks all the boxes both when you leave and arrive back.

 

Note that NVDs are in the USML but not the US munitions import list. Which, bizarrely, means it's harder to temporarily import them than to permanently import them (which happens if you e.g. get an OVNI-M or OVNI-B from Joko).

Edited by sixela, 24 September 2024 - 03:04 AM.

[a__l]

 (which happens if you e.g. get an OVNI-M or OVNI-B from Joko).

But you'll have to pay a lot more for it. So it looks like a dead end.

[sixela]

That was just to point out that importing an OVNI-M/B permanently is *not* falling under the same ITAR rules as exporting or temporarily importing NVDs, not to offer it as a solution (of course buying a second NVD outside of the US and keeping it there is one "solution" but not a cheap one).

Edited by sixela, 24 September 2024 - 03:40 PM.

[Phil Cowell]

It is a dual use technology so if you factor in your time by applying an hourly rate to your time and effort it’s cheaper to buy in Canada. Plus add the cost of blood pressure meds.

 

That was just to point out that importing an OVNI-M/B permanently is *not* falling under the same ITAR rules as exporting or temporarily importing NVDs, not to offer it as a solution (of course buying a second NVD outside of the US and keeping it there is one "solution" but not a cheap one).