The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) are a set of U.S. government rules that govern the export and re-export of commercial and dual-use items—that is, goods, software, and technologies that have both civilian and military applications. They're administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) under the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The following table lists the EAR categories along with key examples; however, it is non-exhaustive. You may find detailed descriptions of EAR-controlled items in the Commerce Control List.
EAR Category
Examples of Items
- Nuclear materials, facilities, and equipment (plus miscellaneous items)
Nuclear reactor parts, uranium enrichment equipment, radiation detection instruments
- Special materials, chemicals, microorganisms, and toxins
Fingerprinting powders, cholera toxin, Brucella abortus, chemical precursors
- Materials processing equipment and related technologies
Vibration test systems, isolators, biocontainment chambers, motion simulators
- Electronics, including semiconductors and integrated circuits
Analog-to-digital converters, high-voltage power supplies, mass spectrometers
- Computers, including high-performance computing systems
High-performance servers, digital computers with encryption, specialized software
- 5 Part 1. Telecommunications equipment and systems
Submarine telecommunication cables, UAV telecontrol systems
- 5 Part 2. Information security, including encryption technologies
Cryptographic modules, hardware security modules (HSMs), cryptanalysis tools
- Sensors and lasers used in various applications
Side-scan sonar, magnetometers, high-speed cameras, CO₂ lasers over 10 kW
- Navigation and avionics systems
Inertial navigation systems, gyroscopes, Galileo GNSS receivers
- Marine technology, including underwater systems
Underwater cameras, sonar systems, marine gas turbines
- Aerospace and propulsion systems, including rockets and jet engines
Jet engines, rocket propulsion systems, composite prepregs for aerospace use