Export Control Reform Act of 2018

Export Control Reform Act of 2018

Other short titles	Export Controls Act of 2018
Acronyms (colloquial)	ECRA, ECA
Enacted by	the 115th United States Congress
Effective	August 13, 2018
Citations
Public law	115-232
Statutes at Large	132 Stat. 1636
Codification
Acts repealed	Export Administration Act of 1979 (Except Sections 11A, 11B, and 11C).
Titles amended	50 U.S.C.: War and National Defense
U.S.C. sections amended	50 U.S.C. ch. Appendix - Export Regulation § 2401 et seq.
Legislative history
Signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on August 13, 2018

The Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA) authorizes the American President to control exports for national security and foreign policy purposes. ECRA is the statutory basis for the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which are administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in the Department of Commerce.

The act replaced the Export Administration Act of 1979, which expired in 2001. Between 2001 and 2018, the EAR were maintained using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Unlike its predecessors, ECRA does not contain a sunset provision and will remain in effect until amended or repealed.

ECRA reversed the decades-long trend toward the liberalization of U.S. export control policy. Whereas the Export Administration Act of 1969 and Export Administration Act of 1979 placed additional limits and introduced new procedural hurdles on the use of controls, ECRA encouraged the expansion of the U.S. export control regime.

Further reading

• Christopher Casey; Paul Kerr (2024). The U.S. Export Control System and the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (Report). Congressional Research Service.