The President’s Export Council will hold a meeting on November 16, 2011 to discuss topics related to the National Export Initiative, and to provide advice regarding how to promote U.S. exports, jobs, and growth. The meeting will be available via live webcast on the Internet at http://whitehouse.gov/live. The public is invited to submit written statements to the President’s Export Council by C.O.B. November 1, 2011.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has sent a final rule to the Office of Management and Budget entitled: "Export and Reexport License Requirements for Certain Microwave and Millimeter Wave Electronic Components."
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced that it will add fifteen parties located in China, Hong Kong, Iran and Singapore to the Entity List. The parties added to the Entity List have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. The added persons include the following eight: Corezing International, Hia Soo Gan Benson, Hossein Ahmad Larijani, Lim Kow Seng, Lim Yong Nam, NEL Electronics Pte Ltd, Paya Electronic Complex, and Wong Yuh Lan. The remaining seven parties are: Action Global, Amaze International, Luo Jie, OEM Hub Co Ltd., Parto System Tehran, Surftech Electronics, and Zhou Zhenyong.
The President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration will meet on November 14, 2011 in Washington, DC. (The PECSEA provides advice on matters pertinent to those portions of the Export Administration Act, as amended, that deal with U.S. policies of encouraging trade with all countries with which the U.S. has diplomatic or trading relations and of controlling trade for national security and foreign policy reasons.) The agenda for this meeting includes the presentation of papers or comments by the public, a review of deliverables for the PEC, discussion of the 2012 workplan, and subcommittee breakout sessions. The open session will be accessible via teleconference to 20 participants on a first come, first served basis.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is correcting, as of January 1, 2011, the Commerce Control List (Supplement No. 1 to 15 CFR Part 774) to revise the “Items” paragraphs in ECCN 1C118 (Certain titanium-stabilized duplex stainless steel (Ti-DSS)) and ECCN 2B008 (Certain assemblies or units, specially designed for machine tools, or dimensional inspection or measuring systems and equipment). ECCN 1C118 correction available here, ECCN 2B008 correction available here.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has sent the Office of Management and Budget a proposed rule entitled "Proposed Revisions to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to Address the Movement of Less Significant Items From the United States Munitions List (USML) to the Commerce Control List (CCL)." This proposed rule outlines the control structure developed under the Export Control Reform (ECR) Initiative to ensure appropriate controls are in place for the less significant items moved from the USML to the CCL.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control states that it received a total of 472 applications requesting authorization to export agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Iran and Sudan under the one-year specific licensing regime of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA) in the second quarter of fiscal year 2011 (January - March 2011). See notice for further statistics.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has released a frequently asked question regarding the central bank of South Sudan. The former Bank of Southern Sudan, sometimes referred to as the Bank of South Sudan, has been established as the new central bank of the Republic of South Sudan. It is no longer a subsidiary of or linked to the Bank of Sudan, and no longer considered to be the Government of Sudan under the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR Part 538.
On October 19, 2011, the Office of Foreign Assets Control removed three companies and three individuals from its "Specially Designated Nationals" List. SDNs are (i) individuals or companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries or (ii) individuals, groups, or entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. The assets of listed SDNs are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is announcing that the Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) will meet on November 9, 2011 from 1pm until 4pm in the East Auditorium, U.S. Department of State. Additional details, including information on signing up to attend is expected to be published in the Federal Register soon.