DDTC to De-Control Certain Capacitors
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls plans to remove export controls from certain high-energy storage capacitors with a voltage rating of 125 volts or less, saying the capacitors are widely commercially available and no longer provide military or intelligence advantages. The change, outlined in an interim final rule released April 26 and effective May 21, builds on the agency’s decision last year to temporarily suspend export license requirements for the capacitors (see 2211230030 and 2212060007). Comments on the rule are due May 30.
The rule will remove the capacitors from U.S. Munitions List Category XI because DDTC said they have “broad commercial application” and are no longer sensitive enough to be subject to restrictions. The “low-voltage high-energy storage capacitor technology has progressed such that many models that exceed the existing USML control criteria no longer provide a critical military or intelligence advantage,” the agency said, adding that the capacitors have been “extensively integrated into commercial applications, such as Wi-Fi routers and civil aviation aircraft transponders.”
DDTC said it wants to keep controls on capacitors with a “voltage rating criterion” of more than 125 volts, saying this is an “industry-standard term” that is “readily accessible to exporters” and would “facilitate compliance and implementation.” But the agency said it’s possible that equipment manufacturers determine voltage ratings using "differing methodologies or underlying assumptions, which could produce significantly different ratings for equivalent products.” DDTC hopes to address this issue by “clearly” defining “voltage rating.”
The agency also considered setting the voltage criterion based on the voltage at which the capacitor is “capable of” operating, because that can be “empirically tested and is potentially less prone to misinterpretation.” But DDTC also said it’s not sure how much testing would be required to “confirm a given capacitor model’s capability or whether customers have ready access to that information to facilitate compliance.”
DDTC is hoping public comments help it decide how to set the minimum voltage requirement in its regulations, asking for feedback on potential definitions for “voltage rating” and “capable of.” It also asked for feedback on, among other topics, whether there are any capacitors with voltage ratings between 125 volts and 500 volts that may not warrant controls, whether it could implement the voltage rating criterion more “easily and consistently,” whether the restrictions present any “implementation challenges” or need guidance, and whether the revisions are unclear or ambiguous.