On March 8, 2013, President Barack Obama issued an executive order implementing the first concrete step in the President's comprehensive initiative to overhaul the US export control system. The executive order is intended to:

The new executive order supersedes and replaces executive order 11958 of 1977, the most recent comprehensive delegation of authority to control exports. It amends executive order 13222 of August 2001, which pertains to Department of Commerce-administered controls.

Congress was notified of these initial changes on March 8, 2013. The new rules will be published publicly after the congressional notice period (on or about April 8, 2013), and will take effect 180 days after publication.

Companies that are engaged in government contracting or the importation or exportation items controlled by the USML, US Munitions Import List (USMIL) or Commerce Department’s Commerce Control List (CCL) should note these changes.

The AECA requires the registration and licensing of brokering activities for imports and exports of defense articles and services. The current rules consist of:

Under the new executive order, all brokering responsibilities are to be consolidated and delegated to the Department of State, which the President expects to:

Currently, the State Department licenses entire defense systems, including any accompanying spare parts or accessories. Many of these accompanying items will be moved to the CCL as a result of the President's export control reform initiative.

For defense systems exports whose items are split between the USML and the CCL, only a State Department license, and not an additional Commerce Department license, will be needed.

This executive order directs the Department of Commerce to set up procedures for notifying Congress about export licenses for items that are no longer subject to statutory notification requirements but still warrant continued transparency. The President expects that increased congressional notification will grant Congress and the public greater visibility into the US export control system's administration.

The current law has been criticized as inefficient and inflexible because the State Department controls everything listed on the USML equally. For example, where a fighter jet is listed on the USML, a bolt may also be listed on the USML solely because it was modified for use on that fighter jet.

The President's export reform initiative aims to relieve some of this inefficiency and inflexibility by rebuilding the USML and CCL. The executive order moves less export-sensitive aircraft and gas turbine engine items from the USML, which is governed by ITAR, to the CCL, which is governed by the less-restrictive Export Administration Regulations (EAR). EAR governs items that:

While the executive order relates only to aircraft and gas turbine engine items, the Obama Administration intends to make a series of rolling changes to the USML throughout 2013. The remaining changes will ultimately update every category of defense articles. By changing the USML, the Obama Administration is attempting to:

For more information on export regulation, see: