On October 16, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that exporters can request six-month extensions of export licenses that are set to expire on or before December 31, 2020.  According to BIS, this is being done to “cut[] red tape and mak[e] it easier for exporters to drive our Nation’s economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic.”

Exporters can request the extension by emailing LicenseExtensionRequest@bis.doc.gov.  The original license will be reviewed and an extension will be granted in most cases.  BIS estimates a turn-around period of 2-3 business days for a majority of license extension requests.  BIS issued this press release announcing this licensing policy.

The author, Alexandre (Alex) Lamy, acknowledges the assistance of Ryan Orange on this article.