Washington, D.C.--The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today announced new best practice guidance for industry to help prevent items that are considered the most significant to Russian weaponry requirements from being diverted for use in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Specifically, BIS recommends that exporters and reexporters of these highest priority items seek written assurances of compliance from their customers to help prevent diversion. The new guidance, along with a sample written certification form, can be found here.

Additional Background on Commerce’s Response to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine:

Since the start of Russia’s illegal further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, BIS has taken more than 50 regulatory and enforcement actions in concert with international and interagency allies and partners to restrict Russia’s access to items it needs to sustain its war effort and to enforce those restrictions. As a result of these restrictions, total Global Export Control Coalition (GECC) exports to Russia have decreased by over 50 percent (over $80 billion) which has led to numerous challenges for the Russian defense industrial base, including the bankruptcy of Russia’s most advanced semiconductor producer; ongoing struggles with supplies to repair, replace, and replenish a variety of military equipment; and efforts to acquire weapons and other support from pariah states like Iran and North Korea. BIS has worked in concert with interagency partners to address Iran’s provision of drones to Russia, identify and break up illicit procurement networks, and continue to refine and coordinate controls on items with our international partners. BIS has also added over 600 entities to the Entity List in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and continued military aggression, as substantially enabled by Belarus, including over 60 in more than 20 countries other than Russia and Belarus. In addition to our GECC partners, we will continue to coordinate with non-GECC countries about our controls, and will continue to monitor developments and act to deny Russia the items it needs to sustain its war machine.

Additional information on Russian evasion tactics including common evasion red flags, compliance guidance for industry and other stakeholders, and other resources are available online at: https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/2011-09-14-14-10-06/russia-export-con….

Additional information on BIS’s actions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is available here: https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/country-guidance/russ….