Generally, export license applications for dual-use items (products that may have both civilian and military applications) and munitions items transferred from the United States Munitions List (USML) to the new 600-Series Commerce Control List (CCL) fall into two categories: 1) referred licenses, including those licenses requiring a recommendation from another agency e.g., Departments of Defense, State, and Energy, and where appropriate other U.S. government departments or agencies) thus the name “referred licenses;” and 2) non-referred licenses, which are those license requests BIS may review or approve without being referred to any other federal agency.

The Chemical Weapon Convention (CWC) establishes a verification regime (e.g., declaration requirements, on-site inspections, and trade restrictions) for weapons-related toxic chemicals and precursors that have peaceful applications. BIS CWC regulations require a U.S. industry exceeding certain chemical activity thresholds to submit declarations and reports. BIS processes, validates, and aggregates the declarations and reports, to develop the U.S. CWC Industrial Declaration, which is forwarded to the State Department, within time frames mandated under the CWC, and to submit it to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).