FTR Changes Require Software Updates, ECR License Exceptions Available, Say Webinar Analysts
U.S. exporters should ensure their Automated Export System (AES) master data and personal software systems are updated to provide for new Foreign Trade Regulations changes due to take effect on April 5, said Integration Point Senior Software Analyst Maritza Mills, during a Jan. 29 Integration Point webinar titled “Export Regulation Changes for 2014.” Census will now require AES post-departure filings five days following the date of export. There will also be changes to Foreign Trade Zones data fields, option 4 filing and ultimate consignee submissions.
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“As far as the ultimate consignee type is concerned, there’s going to be four types as determined by Census. Really there are three main types. Either your ultimate consignee is a government entity, a direct consumer or a reseller,” said Mills. “What Census has acknowledged at this time is that if they ultimate consignee does not fall into one of those three categories, unknown or other will be accepted at this time.” AES will generate a rejection if the ultimate consignee field is not filled out, said Mills. Exporters will have to retransmit with an ultimate consignee submission in order to complete the filing, said Mills. The FTR changes were previously slated to take effect in January, but Census officials postponed the implementation date due to the complexity of the program changes needed (see 13110811).
The next Export Control Reform transfers of Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) from the U.S. Munitions List (USML) to the Commerce Control List (CCL) are scheduled to take effect on July 1, said Angela Chamberlain, Integration Point vice president for global trade content, during the webinar. The transfer will impact USML Categories IV (Launch Vehicles, Guided Missiles, Ballistic Missiles, Rockets, Torpedoes, Bombs, and Mines), V (Explosives and Energetic Materials, Propellants, Incendiary Agents, and their Constituents), IX (Military Training Equipment), X (Personal protective equipment), and XVI (Nuclear Weapons Related Articles), confirmed Chamberlain. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, in conjunction with the State Department, published the July 1 rule in the Federal Register on Jan. 2.
The license exceptions limited value (LVS), temporary (TMP), government (GOV), repair replacement (RPL), technology/software (TSU) and strategic trade authorization (STA) will be available for those exports with ECCNs transferred from the USML to the CCL, said Chamberlain, albeit in limited capacities. For example, exporters and only use LVS 12 times a year and to restricted destinations.
The interagency collaboration has already completed 8 of the 22 USML category transfers, said Chamberlain. The effort aims to compile 95 percent of dual-use commodities into one list, with one licensing body. “They really want to help the speed and efficiency with which companies can export out of the United States. An example of why that’s important is if you look at other countries, for example like Singapore, they … process all exports within a matter of five business days,” said Chamberlain. “So within five working business days, Singapore can determine if you need a license or not and that’s their goal. And the U.S. just wants to make sure the U.S. exporting companies … are able to compete.”