The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a notice detailing the May and August 2011 State Department sanctions against seven firms that OFAC is responsible for implementing. The seven companies were determined to have engaged in sanctionable activities related to Iran’s petroleum sector under Section 5(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), as amended by the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (CISADA) of 2010.
At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting on November 10, 2011, U.S. Commerce Secretary Bryson and the executive Vice President of FedEx announced the Global Buyers Initiative (GBI), which is designed to help U.S. small- and medium-sized businesses reach more markets and sell more products and service overseas. FedEx, which will pilot the program, will seek out experienced overseas importers in National Export Initiative (NEI)-focused markets and sectors that have traditionally not sourced products or services primarily from U.S. businesses and Commerce will connect them to U.S. suppliers.
The Government Accountability Office has issued a report finding that the Commerce Department's U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (CS) should improve export success data and its resource allocation management in order to better support the President's National Export Initiative (NEI), which is aimed at doubling the dollar value of U.S. exports by the end of 2014.
The Census Bureau has issued a reminder on the Automated Export System (AES) Compliance Seminars in Irvine and Los Angeles, and an AESPcLink Workshop in Long Beach, California on November 15-17, respectively. At the seminars, Census Bureau experts will cover the filing requirements of the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), how to classify commodities by providing an understanding of the Schedule B classification requirements, and provide an overview of AES. At the half-day workshops, participants can learn about the benefits of free electronic filing of their export information via the Windows-based desktop PC component AESPcLink. All training is provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce/U.S. Census Bureau/Foreign Trade Division.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has published a final rule, effective November 14, 2011, to align license requirements and licensing policy under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for Liechtenstein with those for Switzerland. BIS has determined that it is appropriate to codify the treatment of Liechtenstein and Switzerland as one territory for purposes of the EAR due to a Customs Union Treaty between the two countries. Under this treaty, Liechtenstein adopted the export controls implemented under Swiss law and authorized Switzerland to administer and enforce export controls within Liechtenstein’s territory. BIS states that the final rule's treatment of Liechtenstein is consistent with U.S. efforts to streamline licensing requirements where export controls prescribed by the multilateral regimes are implemented. As a result, for purposes of the EAR, Liechtenstein will be treated the same as Switzerland.
The State Department has issued a final rule, effective November 9, 2011, that amends the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to include the Republic of the Sudan as a proscribed destination, pursuant to a United Nations Security Council arms embargo, and to clarify that this policy does not apply to the Republic of South Sudan.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has updated its November 6, 2011 home page notice on revised DSP forms to state as follows: DDTC has updated its master country names and country codes list in accord with the changes in geopolitical definitions of states. The DSP Forms (DSP-5, -6, -61, -62, -73, -74, -85), the Common Batch Processing Schema, and the DS-2032 forms were also updated. To help industry prepare, the revised versions of all affected forms are now available for download and review. After the implementation date of 11/21/2011, earlier versions of these forms will no longer be accepted. To download the forms, click here.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls states that it has updated its master country names and country codes list in accord with the changes in geopolitical definitions of states. This update affects all PureEdge submission forms, Batch Processing Schema, the Registration form (DS-2032), and the DSP-85 form. To help industry prepare, the revised versions of all affected forms are now available for download and review. The implementation date for the revised forms is set for 11/21/2011. After that date, earlier versions of the forms will be rejected at the time of submission. To download the new versions of the forms, click here.
The Department of Defense1 has issued a final rule, effective December 2, 2011, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation to revise the prohibition on contracting with entities that conduct restricted business operations in Sudan. The final rule adds criteria that a government agency must address when applying to the President for a waiver of the prohibition on awarding a contract to a contractor that conducts restricted business operations in Sudan. The rule also describes the consultation process the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) will use in support of the waiver request review.
The State Department has issued a proposed rule to revise USML Category VIII (aircraft and related items) to narrow the articles controlled on the USML, and to make this list of items more positive. At the same time, BIS issued a proposed rule to create five new 600 series ECCNs to control articles removed from Category VIII that would instead be controlled by the CCL. The State Department is also not proposing any tiering at this time, and is still developing its definition of "Specially Designed." BIS is also modifying its July 2011 proposed rule regarding the eligibility for License Exception STA, among other things.