The U.S. Commercial Service will host an Automated Export System (AES) Compliance Seminar and an AESPcLink Workshop in Atlanta, Ga. on Feb. 5-6, the Census Bureau said in a press release. During the Feb. 5 seminar, participants will discuss Foreign Trade Regulations filing requirements, discuss Schedule B classification requirements, and provide an overview of AES, it said. The seminar costs $240. The Feb. 6 workshop will offer training on electronic filing of export information via AESPcLink. The workshop costs $75. Those interested should register via Hannah.kamenetsky@trade.gov.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is asking for comments by March 17 on the burden of its five-year recordkeeping requirement for export transactions and boycott actions. The records can include memoranda, correspondence, contracts, invitations to bid, books of account, financial records, restrictive trade practice or boycott documents and reports, said BIS. The state of limitations for criminal actions for Export Administration Regulations violations is five years. Without the requirement that exporters and U.S. parties to boycott actions keep these records for five years, “potential violators could discard records demonstrating violations of the Export Administration Regulations prior to the expiration of the five-year statute of limitations,” said BIS.

The Automated Export System Education (testing) environment will be down on Jan. 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the Census Bureau said in a press release. The environment will be updated with Foreign Trade Regulations changes set to take effect on April 5. For further information or questions, contact the U.S. Census Bureau's AES Branch (800) 549-0595, option 1 for AES, or email askaes@census.gov.

The Automated Export System education (certification) environment is expected on Jan. 15 to be updated and available with Foreign Trade Regulation changes slated to take effect on April 5, Census said in a release. On Jan. 15, AES filers will be able to begin testing the April 5 FTR changes. Census officials previously intended to implement the FTR changes in January, but postponed the effective date to April 5 (see 13110811). For further information or questions, contact the U.S. Census Bureau's AES Branch (800) 549-0595, option 1 for AES, or email askaes@census.gov.

The $194.9 billion in goods and services the U.S. exported in November 2013 marks a record total export level, the Export-Import Bank said in a press release. The U.S. international trade deficit in goods and services decreased to $34.3 billion in November from $39.3 billion in October, the Census Bureau said on Jan. 7 in a report (see 14010705). “American entrepreneurs are proving why exports are so critical to our economic growth." said Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg. "Today's numbers showcase the importance of exports to the U.S. economy and how Ex-Im Bank plays a critical role in supporting American businesses overseas.” The U.S. export of goods and services over the past 12 months of documented statistics is 43.7 percent above the 2009 level of exports, said the press release.

The Energy Department should reconsider its expected sixth consecutive approval of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to countries the U.S. does not share free trade agreements with, said Jennifer Diggins, Chair of America’s Energy Advantage, in a Jan. 9 letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. The approval would allow for an increase -- up to 12 percent -- to the amount of domestically produced natural gas exported to countries without such FTAs, said Diggins. “Natural gas prices have already increased by nearly 30 percent since approval of the first LNG export terminal,” said Diggins. “A renaissance in American manufacturing is underway, powered by abundant supplies of domestic natural gas at affordable prices…Given the uncertainty, unpredictability and historical volatility of the natural gas market, caution is warranted before irreversible harm is done to the economy.”

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau recently posted directions on its website for filling out the “Wine Export Certificate” for exports to China. Currently, U.S. exporters of wine to China must file several certificates with the Chinese government as a condition of entry. Beginning March 1, the one-page, consolidated certificate will function as a certificate of origin, certificate of health, and certificate of authenticity to replace the number of certificates currently required by China. TTB’s guidance document titled “General Instructions for the 'Wine Export Certificate' for U.S. Wine Products Exported from the United States to the People's Republic of China” is (here).

The Laredo Licensed U.S. Customs Brokers Association (LLUSCBA) will host an Automated Export System (AES) Compliance Seminar and an AESPcLink Workshop in Laredo, Texas on Jan. 15-16, the Census Bureau said in a press release. During the Jan. 15 seminar, participants will discuss Foreign Trade Regulations filing requirements, discuss Schedule B classification requirements, and provide an overview of AES, it said.. The seminar costs $125 for LLUSCBA members and $200 for non-members. The Jan. 16 workshop will offer training on electronic filing of export information via AESPcLink. The workshop costs $35 for LLUSCBA members and $75 for non-members. Those interested should register via admin@lluscba.org.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on Jan. 3 denied export privileges to the following entities and individuals by placing them on the Denied Persons List:

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry (BIS) and Security and the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) made corrections to the BIS-DDTC July 8, 2013 final rule that transferred dual use items from the U.S. Munitions List (USML) to the Commerce Control List (CCL). The July 8 rule revised USML Categories VI (Vessels of War and Special Naval Equipment), VII (Tanks and Military Vehicles), XIII (Auxiliary Military Equipment) and XX (Submersible Vessels, Oceanographic and Associated Equipment). The July 8 rule will take effect on Jan. 6, along with this correction. The BIS correction (here) revises the July 8 rule to exclude code of federal regulations part 744, adds headings and preambles and makes clarifications to particular terminology in the text. The DDTC correction (here) revises punctuation, provides exact effective dates for the paragraphs regarding developmental articles and revises part 126 of the code of federal regulations.