DDTC Posts Guidance and FAQs for Agreement "Rebaselines"
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has posted guidance and a frequently asked questions document to assist industry in the preparation and submission of an agreement "rebaseline."
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(An agreement "rebaseline" is used as a tool to "clean-up" a currently approved agreement. The rebaseline allows for an agreement to be brought into compliance with current guidance and policies, integrates numerous cumbersome amendments and/or consolidates provisos levied during the lifecycle of the agreement.)
DDTC or Industry May Initiate/Request a Rebaseline
An agreements officer may initiate a rebaseline after auditing the DDTC agreement file. The applicant is notified of this action via a proviso in an approval letter for an amendment. However, industry is encouraged to review their currently approved agreements and proactively request an agreement rebaseline. When identifying a potential candidate agreement, some factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, the age of the agreement, number of amendments and proviso reconsiderations.
Current Agreement Remains Valid Until Rebaseline is Adjudicated, Executed
The agreement rebaseline submission will be assigned a new case number, but the currently approved agreement will remain valid during the review of the rebaseline submission in order to allow for the continuity of currently approved activities. Once the rebaseline is adjudicated and executed, the "old" agreement and its associated amendments will be terminated.
Details on Application Package
A rebaseline submission is essentially a hybrid amendment as it covers currently approved activities and proposed revisions to bring the agreement into compliance with current guidance and policy. However, the application package is a hybrid submission requiring an amendment transmittal letter, a 22 CFR 126.13 certification letter and a complete proposed agreement.
Transmittal Letter. The 22 CFR 124.12 transmittal letter should be submitted in the amendment format provided in the Guidelines to Preparing Agreements. The subject line must identify the submission as a "rebaseline" to ensure proper handling so the case is not assigned an amendment case number.
The 22 CFR 124.12(a)(6) valuation table should feature three columns as requested with amendments. The first column should be titled "Currently Approved Under AG XXX-XX," the second column should be titled "Rebaseline Addition," and the third column should be titled "New Total."
Proposed Agreement. The rebaseline agreement should be submitted as a "new" agreement to be executed by all parties. The agreement must provide a consolidated scope including any new expansion requests. The agreement must incorporate all the information required by 22 CFR 124.7, 124.8 and 124.9 as required by current guidance and policy. This includes information on sublicensing and TCNs.
FAQ Addresses Criteria for a Rebaseline, Validity of Licenses, Etc.
The FAQ document posted by DDTC addresses the following issues regarding an agreement rebaseline:
What criteria does DDTC use in assessing the need for an agreement rebaseline?
Will currently approved DSP licenses remain valid under the new agreement?
Will the agreement rebaseline require staffing?
DDTC "Guidance for an Agreement Rebaseline" available at http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/docs/rebaselining_agreements.doc.
DDTC FAQs on an Agreement Rebaseline available at http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/docs/FAQs_rebaselining_agreements.doc.