Bureau of Industry and Security November 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is seeking public comments on the impact that implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), through the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act (CWCIA) and the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR), has had on commercial activities involving ``Schedule 1'' chemicals during calendar year 2014. The purpose of this notice of inquiry is to collect information to assist BIS in its preparation of the annual certification to the Congress on whether the legitimate commercial activities and interests of chemical, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical firms are being harmed by such implementation. This certification is required under Condition 9 of Senate Resolution 75, April 24, 1997, in which the Senate gave its advice and consent to the ratification of the CWC.

This final rule makes clarifications and corrections to an interim final rule that was published on May 13, 2014. The May 13 rule added controls to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for spacecraft and related items that the President has determined no longer warrant control under United States Munitions List (USML) Category XVspacecraft and related items. New Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) 9A515, 9B515, 9D515, and 9E515 created by the May 13 rule and existing ECCNs on the Commerce Control List (CCL) will control such items. The May 13 rule also revised various sections of the EAR to provide the proper level of control for the new ECCNs. The vast majority of the changes included in the May 13 rule have been implemented as published in the interim final rule, so those change are not republished in this final rule. A full description of those changes can be found in the Background section and the regulatory text of the May 13 rule. The changes included in this final rule are limited to corrections and clarifications to what was included in the interim final rule. These corrections and clarifications were also informed by comments received in response to the May 13 rule that included a request for comments.

In response to the Venezuelan military's violent repression of the Venezuelan people, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) in this final rule to impose license requirements on the export, reexport, or transfer (in- country) of certain items to or within Venezuela when intended for a military end use or end user. This change complements an existing U.S. arms embargo against Venezuela for its failure to cooperate in areas of counterterrorism.