The Census Bureau issued a final rule adopting provisions on the confidentiality of Electronic Export Information (here). The new regulations, in place on an interim basis since Oct. 6, allow Census to provide Electronic Export Information to the U.S. Principal Party in Interest or an authorized agent for compliance and audit purposes. The final rule also provides for the sharing of EEI with other government agencies that have a hand in export regulation.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is asking the State Department to remove anisotropic plasma dry etching equipment controls from the Wassenaar Arrangement, BIS said on Feb. 6 (here). The product is readily available in China, so Wassenaar controls are ineffective, said BIS in this notice. A Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International inquiry spurred BIS’s investigation into the foreign availability of the product, BIS said. The agency is still asking for comments on the foreign availability of the product.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Feb. 4:
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Feb. 2:
The Commerce Department is seeking applicants for membership on a joint U.S.-Turkey Business Council (here). Potential members must be a senior-level executive at a U.S. company doing business in Turkey, and cannot be a registered foreign agent or lobbyist. Applications are due Feb. 28.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Jan. 29:
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security added the following 14 entries to the Unverified List (here):
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security leveled sanctions on trade and transactions with Crimea, the region Russia absorbed from Ukraine at the outset of 2014 (here). This final rule, effective Jan. 29, amends the Export Administration Regulations to require licenses for all exports and reexports to Crimea and transfers within the region, aside from food and medicines already permitted through the EAR. All such trade is now subject to a presumption of denial from Commerce, but the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control will still consider requests on a case-by-case basis, said the final rule. OFAC previously warned all U.S. companies to wrap up dealings with Crimea by the end of January (see 1412310011). President Barack Obama took executive action to eliminate trade with Crimea in December (see 1412190048).
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Jan. 26:
The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has submitted an application to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to reorganize FTZ 42 in Orlando, Florida under the Alternative Site Framework, said the FTZ Board in a Federal Register notice (here). Under the reorganization, the service area would cover Orange County, Florida. The Alternative Site Framework streamlines processes for designation of new FTZ subzones and usage driven sites within the service area by allowing companies to request zone status through the relatively simple "minor boundary modification" process. Comments on the application are due by March 27.