Bureau of Industry and Security 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations to add two end-users in the People's Republic of China to the list of Validated End-Users (VEU). Specifically, BIS amends Supplement No. 7 to part 748 of the EAR to add Samsung China Semiconductor Co. Ltd. (Samsung China) and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, Inc., China (AMEC) as VEUs. With this rule, exports, reexports and transfers (in-country) of certain items to one Samsung China facility and one AMEC facility are now authorized under Authorization VEU.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 (78 FR 33692), that amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the understandings reached at the June 2012 plenary meeting of the Australia Group (AG) and the 2012 AG intersessional decisions. That final rule also amended the EAR to reflect recent changes to the controls maintained by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on the possession, use, and transfer of select biological agents within the United States. The preamble of that final rule contained an error in its description of the amendments to Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) 1C351 that were based on the understandings reached at the 2012 AG Plenary. The preamble also contained an error in its description of the amendments to ECCN 2B352 that were based on the 2012 AG intersessional decisions. In addition, that final rule contained errors affecting the control language in ECCN 2B352, which controls specified equipment capable of use in handling biological materials. This document corrects these errors.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) publishes this final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the understandings reached at the June 2012 plenary meeting of the Australia Group (AG) and the 2012 AG intersessional decisions. Specifically, this rule amends the Commerce Control List (CCL) entry in the EAR that controls human and zoonotic pathogens and ``toxins'' to reflect changes to the AG ``List of Biological Agents for Export Control'' that were made based on the understandings adopted at the June 2012 AG plenary meeting. These changes included the addition of three pathogens and clarifications to two other items. This rule also amends the CCL entry in the EAR that controls plant pathogens to reflect: The 2012 AG Plenary agreement to add five pathogens to the AG ``List of Plant Pathogens for Export Control;'' and the AG intersessional clarifications to six pathogens identified on this AG list. In addition, the CCL entry in the EAR that controls equipment capable of handling biological materials is amended to reflect the 2012 AG intersessional decision to add certain spray-drying equipment to the AG ``Control List of Dual-Use Biological Equipment and Related Technology and Software.'' This rule also removes the CCL entry that controls select agents not identified on any of the AG common controls lists, but identified on the CCL because they are (or were, until recently) subject to controls maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, on their possession, use, and transfer within the United States. Rather than continuing to control these select agents in a separate CCL entry, this rule adds those select agents that remain subject to the CDC/APHIS controls (as well as a recent addition to the list of select agents) to the AG-related CCL entries that control human and zoonotic pathogens and ``toxins'' and plant pathogens, respectively.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This notice is to remind the public that U.S. firms are required to report annually to the Department of Commerce (Commerce) information on contracts for the sale of defense articles or defense services to foreign countries or foreign firms that are subject to offsets agreements exceeding $5,000,000 in value. U.S. firms are also required to report annually to Commerce information on offsets transactions completed in performance of existing offsets commitments for which offsets credit of $250,000 or more has been claimed from the foreign representative. This year, such reports must include relevant information from calendar year 2012, and must be submitted to Commerce no later than June 15, 2013.

In this interim final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to make certain items subject to the EAR and to impose on those items a license requirement for export and reexport to all destinations, except Canada. Specifically, this rule classifies specified biosensor systems, ``software'' and ``technology'' under Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) 0A521, 0D521 and 0E521, respectively, on the Commerce Control List (CCL). As described in the final rule that established the 0Y521 series and that was published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2012 (77 FR 22191), items are added to the 0Y521 series upon a determination by the Department of Commerce, with the concurrence of the Departments of Defense and State, that the items should be controlled for export because the items provide at least a significant military or intelligence advantage to the United States or foreign policy reasons justify control. The items identified in this rule are controlled for regional stability (RS) Column 1 reasons. The only license exception available for these items is for official use by personnel and agencies of the U.S. Government.