Matt Axelrod Discusses BIS Revenue-Sharing and Export License Challenges with Dow Jones Risk Journal

In the Media  |  August 15, 2025

Dow Jones Risk Journal

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Partner Matt Axelrod recently spoke to the Dow Jones Risk Journal (subscription required) about the inherent challenges that the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) would face in implementing a proposal to grant export licenses to only those companies that enter a revenue sharing arrangement with the government.

Matt told the publication that a broad plan for the U.S. government to profit from export licenses would “put BIS in an impossible position with an unavoidable conflict of interest.” He continued: “Such a system would undermine public confidence that BIS decisions are based on national security grounds rather than on a company’s willingness to fork over a share of its revenue.”

Matt is a former Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at BIS.