Department of State December 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of State is seeking Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the information collection described below. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are requesting comments on this collection from all interested individuals and organizations. The purpose of this Notice is to allow 30 days for public comment.

The Department of State amends the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to create a definition of ``activities that are not exports, reexports, retransfers, or temporary imports'' by combining existing text from the regulations with new text regarding secured unclassified technical data. The activities included in the new definition are: Launching items into space, providing technical data to U.S. persons within the United States or within a single country abroad, and moving a defense article between the states, possessions, and territories of the United States. The definition also clarifies that the electronic transmission and storage of properly secured unclassified technical data via foreign communications infrastructure does not constitute an export. Additionally, the Department amends the ITAR to create a definition of ``access information'' and revise the definition of ``release'' to address the provision of access information to an unauthorized foreign person.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: I hereby determine that certain objects to be exhibited in the exhibition ``Myaamia Ribbonwork'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported pursuant to loan agreement with the foreign owner or custodian. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Miami University Art Museum, in Oxford, Ohio, from on or about January 28, 2020, until on or about June 13, 2020, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. I have ordered that Public Notice of these determinations be published in the Federal Register.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: I hereby determine that certain objects to be included in the exhibition ``True to Nature: Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780-1870,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported pursuant to loan agreements with the foreign owners or custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, District of Columbia, from on or about February 2, 2020, until on or about May 3, 2020, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. I have ordered that Public Notice of these determinations be published in the Federal Register.

The Department of State (``the Department'') requests written information to assist in reporting on the degree to which the United States and foreign governments meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons (``minimum standards'') that are prescribed by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (``TVPA''). This information will assist in the preparation of the Trafficking in Persons Report (``TIP Report'') that the Department submits annually to the U.S. Congress on governments' concrete actions to meet the minimum standards. Foreign governments that do not meet the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so may be subject to restrictions on nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related foreign assistance from the United States, as defined by the TVPA. Submissions must be made in writing to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the Department of State by January 15, 2020. Please refer to the Addresses, Scope of Interest, and Information Sought sections of this Notice for additional instructions on submission requirements.

The Department of State has submitted the information collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 we are requesting comments on this collection from all interested individuals and organizations. The purpose of this Notice is to allow 30 days for public comment.

This final rule provides a clarification regarding situations in which a passport applicant is certified by the Secretary of the Treasury as having a seriously delinquent tax debt. In this rule, the Department clarifies that in such situations, the Department may issue a limited validity passport for direct return to the United States or when emergency circumstances or humanitarian reasons exist.

The Department of State (Department) will hold a Town Hall meeting, co-hosted by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC), on December 16, 2019, in Richland, Washington, to discuss the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty (CRT) regime.

On January 12, 2009, the Department of State imposed sanctions under various authorities on members of the A.Q. Khan nuclear procurement network including, BSA Tahir, a Sri Lankan national and key middleman involved in the network. This resulted in Tahir's addition to the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). Tahir was also sanctioned by the State Department under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Prevention Act and the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945. Today, a determination has been made to terminate the measures imposed on Buhary Seyed Abu Tahir.