[2024 Edition] What Is Export Classification? A Complete Guide from Basics to Practice

The BIS Affiliates Rule (50 Percent Rule) Readiness Checklist (2026)

A fill-in working checklist for trade compliance teams preparing for the BIS Affiliates Rule. Covers what the rule actually does (aggregation across owners and across lists, cascade/carry-forward, the rule of most restrictiveness, and why exactly 50% is in while below 50% is not automatically out), what is stayed and what is in effect now, where ownership data typically breaks, and a six-phase preparation list from scoping through governance. The stay is set to end on 9 November 2026 "absent a future extension"; in September 2026 the US and China announced an extension to 10 January 2027, which had not been published in the Federal Register as of 5 October 2026 — so the sheet is built to work whichever way it goes. Based on primary sources (90 FR 47201, 90 FR 50857, 15 CFR, and China's Ministry of Commerce). Designation is a regulatory classification, not a judgement about a company; final determinations rest with your export-control officer and the authorities' current guidance.

EAR Classification Flow & EAR99 Practical Checklist (for exporters from Japan, 2026)

A fill-in working sheet covering "subject to the EAR? → ECCN on the CCL? → EAR99?", the crucial "when EAR99 still needs a license" (embargoes, end-use, end-user), de minimis / FDP, counterparty screening, and the two-track cross-check with Japan's classification (FEFTA / Appended Table 1). Based on primary sources (15 CFR, the Federal Register, BIS, METI); the EAR changes frequently, so treat the authorities' latest guidance and your export-control officer as authoritative.

China Business Travel: Technology Pre-Departure Worksheet (fill-in, 2026)

A fill-in worksheet for engineers, sales and researchers travelling to China, and for the teams that send them. Under Japan's Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, taking technical information on a trip can amount to providing technology in a foreign country (Art. 25(1)), and carrying it on a laptop or opening it from abroad can fall within Art. 25(3)(i). Most trips stay within the exemptions in Article 9 of the Ordinance on Trade Relations Invisible Trade (publicly available technology, basic scientific research, patent filings, technology incidental to exported goods). This worksheet shows where the line sits, situation by situation, with fill-in sections for before, during and after the trip. The China side reflects State Council Order No. 841 (in force 15 September 2026) Arts. 3 and 5, the Exit and Entry Administration Law Art. 28, and Japan's MOFA overseas safety advisory. Classification and licensing decisions rest with your export-control officer.