Glossary
EAR (Export Administration Regulations)
The Commerce Department regime covering a broad category of commercial and dual-use items, including many defense-adjacent technologies. Less restrictive than ITAR, but still controls exports to certain countries and end-users.
EAR is administered by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security and covers a much broader category of items than ITAR — including genuinely dual-use technology with real civilian applications. EAR still restricts exports, but licensing requirements and foreign-person access rules are generally less stringent than ITAR's, and many EAR-controlled dual-use items can be exported to allied countries without a specific license at all.
EAR99 and the Commerce Control List
Items subject to EAR fall into one of two buckets. Most are assigned an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) on the Commerce Control List, which determines exactly which countries and end-users require a license. Items not listed on the CCL and not otherwise controlled default to the classification EAR99 — a catch-all for items that are subject to EAR jurisdiction but carry the lightest restriction level, though EAR99 items can still require a license for restricted countries, sanctioned entities, or prohibited end-uses (e.g. weapons-of-mass-destruction applications).
Country groups
EAR licensing requirements are keyed to a destination country's assigned country group (A, B, D, E), which determines which license exceptions are available and which end-uses trigger review. A shipment's classification and destination country group together — not the ECCN alone — determine whether a license is required.
EAR vs ITAR
The practical distinction: ITAR applies by design intent (built for military use, full stop) and is the stricter regime; EAR applies to a broader commercial/dual-use category with generally lighter foreign-person and licensing burdens, though "lighter" doesn't mean unregulated. See ITAR vs EAR: export control basics for dual-use startups for how the two regimes affect hiring, cap table composition, and foreign investment.