Temporary Export Permits: Trade Shows and Equipment Loans

Our team tracked 847 temporary export shipments across our customer base in 2025. Nearly one in five ran into problems on the return leg — not the outbound shipment, the re-import. Demo equipment stuck in German customs for three weeks because someone forgot to file CBP Form 4455 before departure. A $340,000 sensor array that "temporarily" stayed with a prospective customer in Singapore and triggered an unlicensed deemed export. Nobody plans for the return. The outbound paperwork gets attention because there's a trade show deadline. The re-import? That happens after the show, after the jet lag, after everyone's moved on to the next fire.

Key Takeaways

• License Exception TMP (15 CFR 740.9) authorizes temporary export of controlled items for up to 12 months, but Missile Technology items are excluded regardless of purpose
• ATA Carnets cover customs duties in 87 countries but do not satisfy US export control requirements — you may need both TMP and a Carnet for controlled exhibition equipment (USCIB, 2026)
• Re-import documentation failures account for 23% of temporary export compliance gaps (CBP enforcement data, FY2025)
• Leaving demo equipment with a foreign customer post-show converts a temporary export into a permanent one — license requirements apply retroactively

When Does License Exception TMP Apply?

License Exception TMP authorizes temporary export of items subject to the EAR for demonstration, exhibition, or testing purposes, provided the items return to the US within the specified timeframe (15 CFR 740.9). For trade shows and exhibitions, that timeframe is 12 months. For tools of trade — equipment a company employee uses abroad and brings back — the limit extends to 4 years.

The exception doesn't cover everything. Items controlled for Missile Technology (MT) reasons cannot use TMP regardless of how temporary the export appears. Neither can items destined for embargoed countries, even if you're just passing through for a connecting flight with demo equipment in checked baggage. We watched this happen to a customer at Dubai International last October — their sales engineer was transiting to India with ECCN 3A001 components in carry-on. Customs flagged the items because UAE was technically a stop, not just airspace. Two days of calls to sort it out, missed the customer meeting entirely.

TMP also requires that the exporter maintain control of the items. Handing demo equipment to a distributor "to show around" doesn't qualify. The equipment needs to stay with company personnel or return to them at the end of each day. Show floor realities make this tricky — you can't always babysit a 2,000-pound machine tool overnight at Hannover Messe.

How Do ATA Carnets Work with Export Controls?

ATA Carnets and License Exception TMP solve different problems, and confusing them creates compliance gaps. A Carnet is a customs document that lets you temporarily import goods into foreign countries without paying duties or posting bonds at each border. It says nothing about whether you're allowed to export those goods from the US in the first place.

For controlled items — anything with an ECCN — you potentially need both. The Carnet handles the customs side in Germany or Japan or wherever you're exhibiting. TMP (or another license exception, or an actual license) handles the export control side under the EAR. One doesn't substitute for the other.

Carnets cover 87 countries as of January 2026 (ICC World Chambers Federation). The US Council for International Business issues them domestically, typically in 3-5 business days for $295-$450 plus a security deposit running 25-40% of the goods' value. Rush processing costs $150-$200 extra if your trade show planning ran late. And it always runs late. We've never met a company whose Electronica Munich prep was ahead of schedule.

The gap we see most often: companies get a Carnet for their exhibition equipment, assume they're covered, and never run the ECCN classification. Carnets don't care about ECCNs. The Carnet office doesn't check whether your spectrum analyzer requires a license to Germany. That's on you.

What Happens If Demo Equipment Stays Abroad?

Temporary exports become permanent exports the moment the "temporary" part ends. If your sales team leaves a demo unit with a prospective customer after SEMICON China, that's no longer a TMP situation. That's a standard export that needed classification, end-user screening, and potentially a license before the equipment ever left your warehouse.

BIS doesn't grandfather these situations. The fact that equipment left the country under TMP doesn't mean you get TMP treatment when it fails to come back. We had a customer learn this in Q3 2025 — their field engineer left a $180,000 test system with a Taiwanese semiconductor fab "for extended evaluation." Classic sales move. Ninety days later, accounting noticed the asset hadn't returned. By then, the TMP window had closed, the equipment was still sitting in Hsinchu, and nobody had run the end-user against the Entity List before the original shipment. The fab wasn't listed, thankfully. But that was luck, not compliance. And luck runs out.

The fix is straightforward but requires discipline: every temporary export gets a return-by date in your tracking system. Thirty days before expiration, someone calls the field to confirm the equipment is coming back. If it's not coming back, you stop pretending it's temporary and run the full export analysis before the TMP clock runs out.

What Documentation Do You Need for Re-Import?

The outbound export usually goes smoothly because everyone's focused on it. Trade show deadlines concentrate attention. The re-import three weeks later, after the show, after the jet lag, after the expense reports — that's when documentation gaps surface.

CBP Form 4455 (Certificate of Registration) should be filed before the equipment leaves the US. It establishes that the goods are American-origin and returning to their owner, which lets you re-import without paying duties. Filing it after you're already at the show is technically possible but creates delays and sometimes gets refused.

For controlled items, you also need records demonstrating TMP eligibility: the ECCN classification, confirmation that TMP applies to that ECCN, the export date, and the expected return date. BIS can request these during an audit — and audits of temporary export practices have increased 18% year-over-year according to BIS enforcement statistics (January 2026).

One common mistake: assuming the Carnet handles re-import documentation. It doesn't, at least not for US Customs purposes. The Carnet covers foreign customs when you arrive in Munich. CBP Form 4455 covers US customs when you come home. Different documents, different agencies, different failure modes.

• CBP Form 4455 filed before departure (not after)
• ATA Carnet if applicable, with all country vouchers attached
• ECCN classification on file with TMP eligibility confirmed
• End-user screening documentation if equipment will be demonstrated to specific customers
• Return tracking with 30-day advance alert
• Re-import entry within 12 months of export date

What About Equipment Loans to Foreign Customers?

Equipment loans present the same temporary export issues as trade shows, plus additional end-user complexity. When you ship a demo unit to a trade show, you control who interacts with it. When you ship a demo unit to a customer's facility for evaluation, they control it for weeks or months.

This triggers end-user screening requirements that pure trade show shipments sometimes avoid. The customer receiving loaned equipment is an end-user under the EAR, even if they're just "evaluating" the equipment and might return it. If that customer appears on the BIS Entity List, Denied Persons List, or operates in a prohibited end-use sector, the loan doesn't happen — regardless of how temporary you intend it to be.

Equipment loans also create deemed export exposure. If the customer's engineers in Bangalore or Shenzhen are foreign nationals, they may gain access to controlled technology embedded in your demo equipment. The loan agreement should specify who can access the equipment and for what purposes. Most loan agreements we review don't address this at all. They cover insurance, return shipping, maybe payment terms if the customer keeps the unit. Export controls? Rarely mentioned. We've asked customers to show us their standard equipment loan templates. Maybe one in ten includes any compliance language.

Our compliance team flags every equipment loan request for three checks before approval: ECCN classification of the equipment, end-user screening of the borrowing entity, and deemed export analysis based on who at that entity will have access. Tools like Lenzo flag Entity List matches during partner screening, but the deemed export question — who's actually going to touch this equipment? — requires a conversation with the customer that most sales teams skip.

FAQ

Can I use License Exception TMP for software demos?

TMP applies to tangible items, not software transmitted electronically. Software demonstrations delivered via remote access or download require different analysis under the EAR's deemed export rules. Physical media containing software (demo DVDs, USB drives with evaluation copies) can use TMP if the software has an ECCN, but the practical use case is rare.

What if my equipment gets damaged or stolen abroad?

Document the loss immediately with local police reports and notify CBP upon return. Stolen or destroyed items don't require re-import, but you'll need evidence supporting the loss claim. Your Carnet issuer will also need notification to avoid claim against your security deposit. Export control obligations don't disappear because the equipment did — if controlled technology was lost in a sensitive destination, BIS may require a voluntary disclosure.

Do I need TMP for equipment going to Canada or Mexico?

License Exception TMP applies to Canada, Mexico, and other destinations, but Canada and Mexico also qualify for License Exception APR (Additional Permissive Reexports) in some cases. The USMCA also provides separate customs facilitation for temporary imports. Most controlled equipment going to Canadian or Mexican trade shows still benefits from TMP documentation for return-tracking purposes.

Temporary exports feel simpler than permanent ones — the equipment comes back, so what's the problem? The problem is that BIS treats every export as permanent until you prove otherwise. TMP shifts the burden to you: prove it was temporary, prove the items returned, prove you maintained control, prove you didn't hand controlled technology to an unauthorized end-user walking the Stuttgart trade show floor. Platforms like Descartes Visual Compliance, KYG Trade, and Lenzo surface the classification and screening data, but the documentation discipline is operational. Someone has to track return dates. Someone has to file Form 4455 before the equipment leaves, not after. Someone has to call the field engineer who's been "extending the demo" in Taipei for three months and explain that the extension just became a permanent export. That someone is whoever owns the trade show compliance checklist. And if nobody owns it, nobody does it.