On August 19, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the “Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act” (H.R. 1316), amending the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to enhance transparency from the agency responsible for administering the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Specifically, the amendment requires the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to submit an annual report to certain congressional committees that relays key details related to export license applications and authorization requests for the export, reexport, release, and in-country transfer of items subject to the EAR to “covered entities”—that is, entities located in Country Group D:5 (i.e., countries subject to a U.S. arms embargo, which notably includes China and Russia) and those included on the BIS Entity List and the Military End-User List.
The report must include:
- the name of the entity submitting the application and the application date;
- a brief description of the item being exported, including its (estimated) value and, if applicable, Export Control Classification Number and reason for control;
- the name and location of the end-user;
- the decision rendered by BIS with respect to the license application or authorization request; and
- the date, location, and result of any end-use checks conducted to ensure compliance with U.S. export controls.
The information in the report, however, is exempt from public disclosure except for purposes of publicizing aggregate statistics.
This Act signals the continued bipartisan prioritization of congressional oversight in the use and effectiveness of export controls, especially where emerging technologies are involved. The Act’s focus also serves as a warning to parties submitting a license application or authorization request to BIS that if the transaction involves a Covered Entity, then their exporting activities will face greater congressional scrutiny.