I own a small company in the US. I am interested in buying Silicon
Steel (Please see Picture; http://manlysource.com/si.jpg ) from an
energy company and export to China.

This kind of silicon steel was recycled from transformers. The
material is very clean and has no oil. It won?t cause any
environmental issues.

I have found a shipping company to take care of domestic and
international shipment.


My question is: 
Do I need a special license to export this kind of material (silicon steel)?  

If I do, where can I apply for the license?  
If I don?t, where can I find the related information? 

Thanks for your answers. 

Kenny

Dear kennyway,

You do not need an export license to export silicon steel.

Export licenses are only required for certain commodities defined by
the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) of the U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security. All goods not included in
the list of restricted commodities can be exported under general
license. Exporters do not have to apply for a general license because
the authorization is granted through the EAR.

The up-to-date alphabetical index of commodities that require an
export license is available here (PDF file); you will see that silicon
steel is not included:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/bis/ear/pdf/indexccl.pdf

In official words, taken from Government websites:

"Licenses are only required for restricted exports as stated by the
Export Administration Regulations (EAR). (...) How to determine if a
license needed:
Find out if the item you are exporting is subject to the EAR. If the
answer is No, you can export under a general license. (...) Exporters
do not have to apply for a general license because the authorization
is granted through the EAR. Nearly 98% of all exported products are
automatically covered." [1]

In case you desire to contact the authority responisble for export
licenses, here is contact information:

U.S. Department of Commerce / Bureau of Industry and Security
Office of Exporting Licensing
Export Counseling Division
14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Room H1099D
Washington, DC 20230
--
Tel: 202-482-4811
Fax: 202-482-3617


Hope this helps!
Regards,
Scriptor



Sources:

[1] U.S. Customs Service, International Trade Data System: Exporting
License Requirements
http://www.itds.treas.gov/licenseinfo.html

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security: Export
Administration Regulations
http://www.access.gpo.gov/bis/ear/ear_data.html

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security: Policies
and Regulations
http://www.bis.doc.gov/PoliciesAndRegulations/index.htm

U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Export Licenses
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/export/export_docs/export_licenses.xml