ITAR Part 129 – International Traffic in Arms Regulations

Authority: Section 38, Pub. L. 104-164, 110 Stat. 1437, (22 U.S.C. 2778); E.O. 13637, 78 FR 16129.

Source: 62 FR 67276, Dec. 24, 1997, unless otherwise noted.

§ 129.1 Purpose.

(a) Section 38(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) provides that persons engaged in the business of brokering activities shall register and pay a registration fee as prescribed in regulations, and that no person may engage in the business of brokering activities without a license issued in accordance with the Act.

(b) All brokering activities identified in this subchapter apply equally to those defense articles and defense services designated in § 121.1 of this subchapter and those items designated in 27 CFR 447.21 (U.S. Munitions Import List).

[78 FR 52690, Aug. 26, 2013, as amended at 85 FR 3833, Jan. 23, 2020]

§ 129.2 Definitions.

As used in this part:

(a) Broker means any person (see § 120.61 of this subchapter) described below who engages in the business of brokering activities:

(1) Any U.S. person (see § 120.62 of this subchapter) wherever located;

(2) Any foreign person (see § 120.63 of this subchapter) located in the United States; or

(3) Any foreign person located outside the United States where the foreign person is owned or controlled by a U.S. person.

Note to paragraph (a)(3):

For purposes of this paragraph, “owned by a U.S. person” means more than 50 percent of the outstanding voting securities of the firm are owned by a U.S. person, and “controlled by a U.S. person” means one or more U.S. persons have the authority or ability to establish or direct the general policies or day-to-day operations of the firm. U.S. person control is rebuttably presumed to exist where U.S. persons own 25 percent or more of the outstanding voting securities unless one foreign person controls an equal or larger percentage.

(b) Brokering activities means any action on behalf of another to facilitate the manufacture, export, permanent import, transfer, reexport, or retransfer of a U.S. or foreign defense article or defense service, regardless of its origin.

(1) Such action includes, but is not limited to:

(i) Financing, insuring, transporting, or freight forwarding defense articles and defense services; or

(ii) Soliciting, promoting, negotiating, contracting for, arranging, or otherwise assisting in the purchase, sale, transfer, loan, or lease of a defense article or defense service.

(2) Such action does not include:

(i) Activities by a U.S. person in the United States that are limited exclusively to U.S. domestic sales or transfers (e.g., not for export);

(ii) Activities by employees of the U.S. Government acting in an official capacity;

(iii) Activities by regular employees (see § 120.64 of this subchapter) acting on behalf of their employer, including those regular employees who are dual nationals or third-country nationals that satisfy the requirements of § 126.18 of this subchapter;

Note to paragraph (b)(2)(iii):

The exclusion does not apply to persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction with respect to activities involving a defense article or defense service originating in or destined for any proscribed country, area, or person identified in § 126.1 of this subchapter.

(iv) Activities that do not extend beyond administrative services, such as providing or arranging office space and equipment, hospitality, advertising, or clerical, visa, or translation services, collecting product and pricing information to prepare a response to Request for Proposal, generally promoting company goodwill at trade shows, or activities by an attorney that do not extend beyond the provision of legal advice to clients;

(v) Activities performed by an affiliate, as defined in § 120.66 of this subchapter, on behalf of another affiliate;

(vi) Activities by persons, including their regular employees (see § 120.64 of this subchapter), that do not extend beyond acting as an end-user of a defense article or defense service exported pursuant to a license or other approval under part 123, 124, or 125 of this subchapter, or subsequently acting as a reexporter or retransferor of such article or service under such license or other approval, or under an approval pursuant to § 123.9 of this subchapter;

(vii) Activities by persons to facilitate the manufacture in the United States or export of an item subject to the EAR; or

(viii) Activities by persons to facilitate the reexport, or transfer of an item subject to the EAR that has been approved pursuant to a license, license exception, or no license required authorization under the EAR or a license or other approval under this subchapter.

(c) For the purposes of this subchapter, engaging in the business of brokering activities requires only one occasion of brokering as described in paragraph (b) of this section.

[78 FR 52690, Aug. 26, 2013, as amended at 85 FR 3833, Jan. 23, 2020; 87 FR 16425, Mar. 23, 2022]

§ 129.3 Requirement to register.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, any person who engages in brokering activities (see § 129.2) is required to register with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Registration under this section is generally a precondition for the issuance of approval for brokering activities required under this part 129 or the use of exemptions.

(b) Exemptions. Registration, approval, recordkeeping, and reporting under this section are not required for:

(1) Foreign governments or international organizations, including their employees, acting in an official capacity; or

(2) Persons exclusively in the business of financing, insuring, transporting, customs brokering, or freight forwarding, whose activities do not extend beyond financing, insuring, transporting, customs brokering, or freight forwarding. Examples include air carriers or freight forwarders that merely transport or arrange transportation for licensed defense articles, and banks or credit companies who merely provide commercially available lines or letters of credit to persons registered or required to register in accordance with parts 122 or 129 of this subchapter. However, banks, firms, or other persons providing financing for defense articles or defense services are required to register under certain circumstances, such as when the bank or its employees are directly involved in arranging transactions involving defense articles or defense services or hold title to defense articles, even when no physical custody of defense articles is involved. In such circumstances, the banks, firms, or other persons providing financing for defense articles or defense services are not exempt.

(c) Persons exempt from registration, approval, recordkeeping, and reporting as provided in § 129.3(b) are subject to the policy on embargoes and other proscriptions as outlined in § 129.7.

(d) U.S. persons who are registered as a manufacturer or exporter in accordance with part 122 of this subchapter, including their U.S. or foreign subsidiaries and other affiliates listed on their Statement of Registration who are required to register under this part, are not required to submit a separate broker registration or pay a separate broker registration fee when more than 50 percent of the voting securities are owned by the registrant or such subsidiaries and affiliates are otherwise controlled by the registrant (see § 120.66 of this subchapter), and they are listed and identified as brokers within their manufacturer or exporter Statement of Registration. All other requirements of this part apply to such brokers and their brokering activities.

(e) Registration under this section is a precondition for the issuance of approval for brokering activities required under this section or the use of exemptions, unless an exception is granted by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

[78 FR 52690, Aug. 26, 2013, as amended at 87 FR 16426, Mar. 23, 2022]

§ 129.4 Requirement for approval.

(a) Except as provided in § 129.5, no person who is required to register as a broker pursuant to § 129.3 of this subchapter may engage in the business of brokering activities pursuant to § 129.2(b) without first obtaining the approval of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls for the brokering of any of the following:

(1) Any foreign defense article or defense service enumerated in part 121 of this subchapter (see § 120.39 of this subchapter, and § 129.5 for exemptions) and those foreign origin items on the U.S. Munitions Import List (see 27 CFR 447.21); or

(2) Any of the following U.S. origin defense articles or defense services:

(i) Firearms and other weapons of a nature described by Category I(a) through (d), Category II(a) and (d), and Category III(a) of § 121.1 of this subchapter or Category I(a) through (c), Category II(a), and Category III(a) of the U.S. Munitions Import List (see 27 CFR 447.21);

(ii) Rockets, bombs, and grenades as well as launchers for such defense articles of a nature described by Category IV(a), and launch vehicles and missile and anti-missile systems of a nature described by Category IV(b) of § 121.1 of this subchapter (including man-portable air-defense systems);

(iii) Vessels of war described by Category VI of § 121.1 of this subchapter;

(iv) Tanks and military vehicles described by Category VII of § 121.1 of this subchapter;

(v) Aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles described by Category VIII of § 121.1 of this subchapter;

(vi) Night vision-related defense articles and inertial platform, sensor, and guidance-related systems of a nature described by Category XII(c) and (d) of § 121.1 of this subchapter;

(vii) Chemical agents and precursors described by Category XIV(a), (c), and (e) of § 121.1 of this subchapter, biological agents and biologically derived substances described by Category XIV(b) of § 121.1 of this subchapter, and equipment described by Category XIV(f) of § 121.1 of this subchapter for dissemination of the chemical agents and biological agents described by Category XIV(a), (b), and (e) of § 121.1 of this subchapter;

(viii) Submersible vessels described by Category XX of § 121.1 of this subchapter; and

(ix) Miscellaneous articles of a nature described by Category XXI of § 121.1 of this subchapter.

(b) [Reserved]

[78 FR 52691, Aug. 26, 2013, as amended at 85 FR 3833, Jan 23, 2020; 87 FR 16426, Mar. 23, 2022]

§ 129.5 Exemption from requirement for approval.

(a) Unless paragraph (c) of this section applies, brokering activities undertaken for an agency of the U.S. Government pursuant to a contract between the broker and that agency are exempt from the requirement for approval provided that:

(1) The brokering activities concern defense articles or defense services solely for the use of the agency; or

(2) The brokering activities are undertaken for carrying out a foreign assistance or sales program authorized by law and subject to control by the President by other means, as demonstrated by one of the following conditions being met:

(i) The U.S. Government agency contract with the broker contains an explicit provision stating the contract supports a foreign assistance or sales program authorized by law and the contracting agency has established control of the activity covered by the contract by other means equivalent to that established under this subchapter; or

(ii) The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls provides written concurrence in advance that the condition is met.

(b) Unless paragraph (c) of this section applies, brokering activities regarding a foreign defense article or defense service (see § 120.39 of this subchapter) are exempt from the requirement for approval when arranged wholly within and destined exclusively for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, any member country of that organization, Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, or the Republic of Korea, except in the case of the defense articles or defense services specified in § 129.4(a)(2), for which approval is required.

(c) Brokers engaging in brokering activities described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section are not exempt from obtaining approval from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls if:

(1) The broker is not registered as required by § 129.3;

(2) The broker or any person who has a direct or indirect interest in or may benefit from the brokering activities, including any related defense article or defense service transaction, is ineligible as defined in § 120.16(c) of this subchapter; or

(3) A country or person referred to in § 126.1 of this subchapter is involved in the brokering activities or such activities are otherwise subject to § 129.7.

(d) Brokers who use the exemptions in this section must comply with all other provisions of this part 129.

[78 FR 52691, Aug. 26, 2013, as amended at 87 FR 16426, Mar. 23, 2022]

§ 129.6 Procedures for obtaining approval.

(a) All requests for approval of brokering activities must be made to the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, be signed by an empowered official, and include the following information:

(1) The applicant’s name, address and registration code;

(2) A certification on whether:

(i) The applicant or the chief executive officer, president, vice presidents, secretary, partner, member, other senior officers or officials (e.g., comptroller, treasurer, general counsel), or any member of the board of directors is the subject of an indictment or has been otherwise charged (e.g., by criminal information in lieu of indictment) for, or has been convicted of, violating any of the U.S. criminal statutes enumerated in § 120.6 of this subchapter;

(ii) The applicant or the chief executive officer, president, vice presidents, secretary, partner, member, other senior officers or officials (e.g., comptroller, treasurer, general counsel), or any member of the board of directors is ineligible to contract with, or to receive a license or other approval to import defense articles or defense services from, or to receive an export license or other approval from, any agency of the U.S. Government; and

(iii) To the best of the applicant’s knowledge, any other person involved in the brokering activities enumerated in the request for approval as defined in § 129.2 is the subject of an indictment or has been otherwise charged (e.g., charged by criminal information in lieu of indictment) for or has been convicted of violating

any of the U.S. criminal statutes enumerated in § 120.6 of this subchapter, or is ineligible to contract with, or to receive a license or other approval to import defense articles or defense services from, or to receive an export license or other approval from, any agency of the U.S. Government.

(b) The request for approval shall describe fully the brokering activities that will be undertaken, including:

(1) The action to be taken by the applicant to facilitate the manufacture, export, import, or transfer of a defense article or defense service (which may be referred to as a “defense article or defense service transaction”);

(2) The name, nationality, address, and place of business of all persons who may participate in the brokering activities;

(3) A description of each defense article or defense service that may be involved, including:

(i) The U.S. Munitions List (see § 121.1 of this subchapter) or U.S. Munitions Import List (see 27 CFR 447.21) category and sub-category for each article;

(ii) The name or military nomenclature of each defense article;

(iii) Whether the defense article is significant military equipment;

(iv) Estimated quantity of each defense article;

(v) Estimated U.S. dollar value of defense articles and defense services;

(vi) Security classification; and

(vii) End-user and end-use; and

(4) A statement whether the brokering activities are related to a sale through direct commercial sale or under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program or other activity in support of the U.S. Government.

(c) The empowered official signing the request for approval shall include a certification that the request is complete and accurate.

(d) If at the time of submission certain information required by paragraph (b) of this section is not yet available, this fact must be stated and explained in the certification required by paragraph (c) of this section. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will take any such explanation into account in deciding whether to approve the request.

(e) The period of validity for an approval may not exceed four years.

[78 FR 52691, Aug. 26, 2013, as amended at 85 FR 3833, Jan. 23, 2020; 87 FR 16426, Mar. 23, 2022]

§ 129.7 Policy on embargoes and other proscriptions.

(a) This section applies to brokering activities defined in § 129.2, regardless of whether the person involved in such activities has registered or is exempt from registration under § 129.3. The exemptions in § 129.5 from the requirement for approval are not applicable to brokering activities subject to this section.

(b) No person may engage in or make a proposal to engage in brokering activities that involve any country, area, or person referred to in § 126.1 of this subchapter without first obtaining the approval of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

(c) No person may engage in or make a proposal to engage in brokering activities without first obtaining approval of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls if such activities involve countries or persons identified by the Department of State through notice in the Federal Register, with respect to which certain limitations on defense articles or defense services are imposed for reasons of U.S. national security, foreign policy, or law enforcement interests (e.g., an individual subject to debarment pursuant to § 127.7 of this subchapter). (See § 127.1(c) of this subchapter for additional disclosure and approval requirements applicable to brokering activities.)

(d) It is the policy of the Department of State to deny requests for approval of brokering activities or proposals to engage in brokering activities involving the countries or persons referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section. Any person who knows or has reason to know of brokering activities involving such countries or persons must immediately inform the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

[78 FR 52692, Aug. 26, 2013]

§ 129.8 Submission of Statement of Registration, registration fees, and notification of changes in information furnished by registrants.

(a) An intended registrant must submit a Department of State form DS-2032 (Statement of Registration) to the Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance by following the submission guidelines available on the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls Web site at www.pmddtc.state.gov. The Statement of Registration must be signed by a U.S. person senior officer (e.g., chief executive officer, president, secretary, partner, member, treasurer, general counsel) who has been empowered by the intended registrant to sign such documents, with the exception that a foreign senior officer may sign the Statement of Registration if the intended registrant seeks only to register as a foreign broker. The Statement of Registration may include subsidiaries and affiliates when more than 50 percent of the voting securities are owned by the registrant or the subsidiaries and affiliates are otherwise controlled by the registrant (see § 120.66 of this subchapter). The intended registrant, whether a U.S. or foreign person, shall submit documentation that demonstrates it is incorporated or otherwise authorized to do business in its respective country. Foreign persons who are required to register shall provide information that is substantially similar in content to that which a U.S. person would provide under this provision (e.g., foreign business license or similar authorization to do business). The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will notify the registrant if the Statement of Registration (form DS-2032) is incomplete either by notifying the registrant of what information is required or through the return of the entire registration package.

(b)

(1) Frequency of registration and fee. A person who is required to register must do so on an annual basis by submitting a completed Statement of Registration (form DS-2032) and a fee following the fee guidelines available on the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls Web site at www.pmddtc.state.gov. Registrants are not required to submit a separate statement of registration and pay an additional fee when provisions in § 129.3(d) are met.

(2) Expiration of registration. A registrant must submit its request for registration renewal at least 30 days, but no earlier than 60 days, prior to the expiration date.

(3) Lapse in registration. A registrant who fails to renew a registration and, after an intervening period, seeks to register again must pay registration fees for any part of such intervening period during which the registrant engaged in the business of brokering defense articles or defense services.

(c) Statement of Registration Certification. The Statement of Registration (form DS-2032) of the intended registrant shall include a certification by an authorized senior officer of the following:

(1) Whether the intended registrant or its parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate listed in the Statement of Registration, or any of its chief executive officers, presidents, vice presidents, secretaries, partners, members, other senior officers or officials (e.g., comptroller, treasurer, general counsel), or any member of the board of directors of the intended registrant, or of any parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate listed in the Statement of Registration:

(i) Has ever been indicted or otherwise charged (e.g., charged by criminal information in lieu of indictment) for or has been convicted of violating any U.S. criminal statutes enumerated in § 120.6 of this subchapter or violating a foreign criminal law on exportation of defense articles where conviction of such law carries a minimum term of imprisonment of greater than 1 year; or

(ii) Is ineligible to contract with, or to receive a license or other approval to import defense articles or defense services from, or to receive an export license or other approval from, any agency of the U.S. Government; and (2) Whether the intended registrant is foreign owned or foreign controlled (see § 120.65 of this subchapter). If the intended registrant is foreign owned or foreign controlled, the certification shall include an explanation of such ownership or control, including the identities of the foreign person or persons who ultimately own or control the registrant. This requirement applies to a registrant who is a U.S. person and is owned or controlled by a foreign person. It also applies to a registrant who is a foreign person and is owned or controlled by a foreign person from the same country or a foreign person from another country.

(d) A registrant must, within five days of the event, provide to the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls a written notification, signed by a senior officer (e.g., chief executive officer, president, secretary, partner, member, treasurer, general counsel), if:

(1) Any of the persons referred to in § 129.8(c) is indicted or otherwise charged (e.g., charged by criminal information in lieu of indictment) for or convicted of violating any of the U.S. criminal statutes enumerated in § 120.6 of this subchapter or violating a foreign criminal law on exportation of defense articles where conviction of such law carries a minimum term of imprisonment of greater than 1 year; or becomes ineligible to contract with, or to receive a license or other approval to export or import defense articles or defense services from, any agency of the U.S.Government; or

(2) There is a change in the following information contained in the Statement of Registration (form DS-2032):

(i) Registrant’s name;

(ii) Registrant’s address;

(iii) Registrant’s legal organization structure;

(iv) Ownership or control;

(v) The establishment, acquisition or divestment of a U.S. or foreign subsidiary or other affiliate who is engaged in brokering activities or otherwise required to be listed in registrant’s Statement of Registration; or

(vi) Board of directors, senior officers, partners and owners.

Note 1 to paragraph (d):

All other changes in the Statement of Registration must be provided as part of annual registration renewal.

Note 2 to paragraph (d):

For one year from October 25, 2013, “Amendment to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations: Registration and Licensing of Brokers, Brokering Activities, and Related Provisions,” RIN 1400-AC37, the following changes must be provided as part of the annual registration renewal: pursuant to § 129.3(d), changes to combine an existing broker registration with an existing manufacturer/exporter registration, and pursuant to § 129.8(a), changes to an existing registration to remove partially owned and not otherwise controlled subsidiaries or affiliates, which are not the subject of an internal reorganization, merger, acquisition, or divestiture.

(e) A U.S. or foreign registrant must provide written notification to the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls at least sixty (60) days in advance of any intended sale or transfer to a foreign person of ownership or control of the registrant or any parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate listed and covered in its Statement of Registration. Such notice does not relieve the registrant from obtaining any prior approval required under this subchapter.

(f) The new entity formed when a registrant merges with another company or acquires, or is acquired by, another company or a subsidiary or division of another company, shall advise the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls of the following:

(1) The new firm name and all previous firm names;

(2) The registration number that will continue and those that are to be discontinued (if any); and

(3) The numbers of all approvals for brokering activities under the continuing registration number, since any approval not the subject of notification will be considered invalid.

(g) A registrant whose registration lapses because of failure to renew and, after an intervening period, seeks to register again must pay registration fees for any part of such intervening period during which the registrant engaged in the business of brokering activities.

[78 FR 52692, Aug. 26, 2013, as amended at 87 FR 16426, Mar. 23, 2022]

§ 129.9 Guidance.

(a) Any person desiring guidance on whether an activity constitutes a brokering activity within the scope of this part 129 may request in writing guidance from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. The request for guidance shall identify the applicant and registrant code (if applicable) and describe fully the activities that will be undertaken, including:

(1) The specific activities to be undertaken by the applicant and any other U.S. or foreign person;

(2) The name, nationality, and geographic location of all U.S. and foreign persons who may participate in the activities;

(3) A description of each defense article or defense service that may be involved, including:

(i) The U.S. Munitions List category and sub-category for each article;

(ii) The name or military nomenclature of each defense article;

(iii) Whether the defense article is significant military equipment;

(iv) Estimated quantity of each defense article;

(v) Estimated U.S. dollar value of defense articles and defense services; and

(vi) Security classification;

(4) End-user and end-use; and

(5) A copy of any agreement or documentation, if available, between or among the requester and other persons who will be involved in the activity or related transactions that describes the activity to be taken by such persons.

(b) If at the time of submission certain information is not yet available, this circumstance must be stated and explained. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will take the completeness of the information into account in providing guidance on whether the activities constitute brokering activities. The guidance will constitute an official determination by the Department of State. The guidance shall not substitute for approval when required under § 129.4.

(c) Persons desiring guidance on other aspects of this part may also request guidance from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in a similar manner by submitting a description of the relevant facts or copies of relevant documentation.

[78 FR 52693, Aug. 26, 2013]

§ 129.10 Reports.

(a) Any person required to register under this part (including those registered in accordance with § 129.3(d)) shall provide to the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on an annual basis a report of its brokering activities in the previous twelve months. Such report shall be submitted along with the registrant’s annual renewal submission or, if not renewing, within 30 days after expiration of registration.

(b) The report shall include brokering activities that received or were exempt from approval as follows:

(1) The report shall identify the broker’s name, address, and registration code and be signed by an empowered official who shall certify that the report is complete and accurate. The report shall describe each of the brokering activities, including the number assigned by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to the approval or the exemption claimed; and

(2) For each of the brokering activities, the report shall identify all persons who participated in the activities, including each person’s name, address, nationality, and country where located and role or function; the quantity, description, and U.S. dollar value of the defense articles or defense services; the type and U.S. dollar value of any consideration received or expected to be received, directly or indirectly, by any person who participated in the brokering activities, and the source thereof.

(c) If there were no brokering activities, the report shall certify that there were no such activities.

[78 FR 52694, Aug. 26, 2013]

§ 129.11 Maintenance of brokering records by registrants.

A person who is required to register pursuant to this part (including those registered in accordance with § 129.3(d)) must maintain records concerning brokering activities in accordance with § 122.5 of this subchapter.

[78 FR 52694, Aug. 26, 2013]