GAO Says More Resources Must be Committed to Export Control Enforcement
Most government agencies do not fully track resources used and the risks involved with export control enforcement activities, the Government Accountability Office said in a March 27 report. Because they have missions other than export controls, agencies can use staff resources for other activities based on need, making tracking resources used solely for export control enforcement difficult, GAO said. Only Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement allocates its resources exclusively to export control enforcement, and other agencies, such as State and the Treasury, have relatively few export control enforcement staff to track, the report said.
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In some cities, agencies are informally leveraging export enforcement resources through voluntarily created local task forces to work collectively on export control, GAO said. It said challenges include license determination delays, which often are not timely, lack of secure communications and cleared staff, lack of trend data on illicit transshipments, and lack of measures that fully reflect the complexity of export control cases.
GAO said revising the control list could simplify the license determination process, but could also mean a need for increased enforcement activity overseas. The new Export Enforcement Coordination Center is intended to help agencies coordinate their export control enforcement efforts and share intelligence and law enforcement information efforts, but GAO said it’s unclear whether the center will address all of the challenges GAO found, as detailed plans for its operations are under development.
GAO recommended that the departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, Justice and State take steps individually and with other agencies through the national Export Enforcement Coordination Center to better manage export control enforcement resources and improve the license determination process. GAO said the agencies agreed with the recommendations.
For more information, contact Belva Martin at (202) 512-4841 or martinb@gao.gov.