Department of Commerce's Under Secretary Eric L. Hirschhorn Discusses Export Controls with Incubators

October 16, 2015

On Friday, October 16th, ACTION member Greentown Labs hosted a day-long event with Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Under Secretary Eric L. Hirschhorn. The day included the Under Secretary meeting with hardware startups, presentation of a webinar on US export control regulations, and one-on-one meetings with various state agencies that offer export assistance to companies.

BIS administers and enforces export controls on many military and dual-use items. Export controls are federal regulations that help to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy, and address proliferation concerns by regulating and restricting the export of sensitive goods and technologies to foreign nationals or foreign countries. Under Secretary Hirschhorn discussed how BIS provides services to hardware startups and was interested to explore how existing startup support ecosystems can best communicate applicable laws and regulations to early-stage companies. Pictured left to right, are Joan Popolo, Interim Executive Director, ACTION, Mark Vasu and Micaelah Morrill, both of Greentown Labs, Under Secretary Eric L. Hirschhorn, Emily Reichert, CEO at Greentown Labs, and Travis Hunter, General Manager at Quincy Center for Innovation.