Commodity Futures Trading Commission May 16, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On July 14, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'' or the ``Commission'') issued a final order (``July 14 Order'') that granted temporary exemptive relief from certain provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (``CEA'') that otherwise would have taken effect on the general effective date of title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the ``Dodd- Frank Act'')July 16, 2011. On December 23, 2011, the Commission amended the July 14 Order to extend the potential latest expiration date of the July 14 Order from December 31, 2011 to July 16, 2012, and added provisions to account for the repeal and replacement (as of December 31, 2011) of part 35 of the Commission's regulations (the ``First Amended July 14 Order''). In this Notice of Proposed Amendment (``Notice''), the Commission proposes to further modify the temporary exemptive relief provided in the First Amended July 14 Order by: (1) Removing references to the entities terms, including ``swap dealer,'' ``major swap participant,'' and ``eligible contract participant'' in light of the final, joint CFTC-SEC rulemaking further defining them issued on April 18, 2012; (2) extending the potential latest expiration date of the July 14 Order to December 31, 2012, or, depending on the nature of the relief, such other compliance date as may be determined by the Commission; (3) allowing the clearing of agricultural swaps, as described herein; and (4) removing any reference to the exempt commercial market (``ECM'') and exempt board of trade (``EBOT'') grandfather relief previously issued by the Commission. Only comments pertaining to these proposed amendments to the First Amended July 14 Order, as amended (the ``Second Amended July 14 Order''), will be considered.