Export Controls

Actions Needed To Improve Enforcement Gao ID: NSIAD-94-28 December 30, 1993

The Persian Gulf War illustrated vividly the dangers posed when countries such as Iraq obtain so-called dual-use equipment and technology needed to develop weapons of mass destruction. Controlling exports is central to the U.S. strategy for preventing the spread of these weapons. This report reviews (1) the tools and resources available to the Commerce Department and the U.S. Customs Service in carrying out their enforcement responsibilities; (2) how well they are enforcing export controls; (3) impediments to effective enforcement; and (4) options for modifying the current enforcement organizational structure.

GAO found that: (1) the enforcement tools and authorities available to Commerce and Customs are generally complementary, but their criminal investigation responsibilities overlap; (2) Customs has a larger enforcement network than Commerce, but Commerce has the ability to link its enforcement and licensing activities and impose administrative sanctions; (3) both agencies have reduced their resources for dual-use export enforcement since fiscal year (FY) 1988 due in part to the relaxation of controls over shipments to the former Soviet bloc; (4) Commerce expects its FY 1994 dual-use export enforcement budget to decline sharply; (5) the effectiveness of Commerce's and Customs' enforcement efforts declined in FY 1992 compared to previous years; (6) poor cooperation between Commerce and Customs is the most serious impediment to effective export enforcement; (7) Department of Justice officials believe that maintaining two separate agencies with overlapping jurisdictions is inefficient and wasteful, particularly in the face of continuing budget reductions; (8) the two most meritorious options for modifying the enforcement structure are maintaining the split in Commerce's and Customs' enforcement responsibilities while improving their cooperation, coordination, and use of resources, or transferring criminal enforcement responsibility to Customs; and (9) Commerce and Customs have recently initiated two agreements to improve their cooperation efforts, but Congress will have to monitor the agreements' implementation to ensure that results are actually achieved.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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