On February 24, 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to revise the Country Group designations based on national security and foreign policy concerns.
Russia was removed from more favorable treatment under Country Groups A:2 and A:4 and added to D:2 and D:4 based on nuclear and missile technology proliferation concerns. Yemen was removed from more favorable treatment under Country Group B and added to D:1 based on national security concerns.
These changes have resulted in certain license exceptions no longer being available for Russia and Yemen, licenses now being required for certain controlled items, and changes to licensing review policies and prohibitions for certain transactions.
This Federal Register Notice can be found at 85 FR 10274, here:
