BIS Adds Separate Dual-Use Export Controls for South Sudan
The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective July 9, 2011, which amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add certain controls on exports and reexports of U.S.-origin dual-use items to a new nation, the Republic of South Sudan, which has voted to become a separate nation from Sudan1.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
South Sudan Now a Separate Nation in EAR, License Required for RS, CC, Etc.
The EAR will now list two countries with "Sudan" in their names: the Republic of the Sudan, referred to as "Sudan" in the EAR, the capital city of which is Khartoum, and the Republic of South Sudan, referred to as "South Sudan, Republic of" in the EAR, the capital of which is expected to be Juba.
BIS will require a license for the export or reexport to the Republic of South Sudan of items controlled unilaterally for regional stability and crime control reasons, and items controlled by the multilateral export control regimes (Australia Group, Wassenaar Arrangement, Chemical/Biological Weapons Conventions, Nuclear Suppliers Group, Missile Technology Control Regime). Other reasons for control under the EAR also may apply.
BIS notes that its rule does not change the existing license requirements or licensing policy for exports and reexports of items to any other country under the EAR.
South Sudan Listed in Commerce Country Chart, Eligible for License Exceptions
BIS' rule adds the Republic of South Sudan to the Commerce Country Chart in Supplement No. 1 to Part 15 CFR 738 and adds appropriate “X” symbols denoting license requirements implementing these controls for the new country.
BIS' rule also adds the new country to Country Group B in Supplement No. 1 to 15 CFR Part 740. Country Group B includes a wide range of countries raising relatively few national security concerns. Countries in Country Group B are eligible for several License Exceptions not available for exports or reexports to countries in Country Groups D or E.
1The Republic of the Sudan (referred to as “Sudan” in the EAR) was designated by the Secretary of State as a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law in 1993. In 1997, the President issued Executive Order 13067 (Blocking Sudanese Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Sudan), imposing comprehensive economic sanctions against Sudan because of the policies and actions of the Government of Sudan, including its continued support for international terrorism. The Commerce Department imposed anti-terrorism controls on Sudan under 15 CFR 742.10, which restricts the export or reexport to Sudan of most items subject to the EAR that are listed on the Commerce Control List (CCL).
Pursuant to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation, in 2006 the regional government of Southern Sudan was excluded from the definition of the “Government of Sudan” set forth in EO 13067. In February 2011, a referendum commission announced that the region of Southern Sudan had voted to become a separate nation, and President Obama announced the intention of the U.S. to formally recognize the Republic of South Sudan as a sovereign state, effective July 9, 2011.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 07/08/11 news, 11070853, for BP summary of a recent State Department briefing on the new Republic of South Sudan.
See ITT's Online Archives or 06/03/11 news, 11060313, for BP summary of the State Department saying it expects South Sudan to become an AGOA beneficiary country.
See ITT's Online Archives or 04/13/11 news, 11041310, for BP summary of an OFAC guidance on its exemption from the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations of the new southern Sudan state.)
BIS contact -- Susan Kramer (202) 482-3241
(D/N 110525299-1322-01, FR Pub 07/13/11)