Industry and Security Bureau – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add an end-user to the list of validated end-users in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Exports, reexports and transfers (in-country) of certain items to three facilities of this end-user are now authorized under Authorization Validated End-User (VEU).

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to reflect changes to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Annex that were agreed to by MTCR member countries at the November 2009 Plenary in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In addition, this rule corrects an error published in a final rule on December 10, 2009 (74 FR 65662).

This rule enables BIS to eliminate the paper versions of most export and reexport licenses, notices of denial of license applications, notices of return of a license application without action, notices of results of classification requests, License Exception AGR notification results, and encryption review request results. This rule also changes certain recordkeeping requirements associated with the elimination of paper documents. BIS is making these changes to reduce mailing costs and to free up staff time currently devoted to mailing these documents for use in other tasks.

This rule amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by revising controls to advance U.S. homeland security and foreign policy interests. The revisions include language that should facilitate public understanding of how concealed object detection equipment is treated for purposes of U.S. Government export controls, in particular by detailing the technical parameters of concealed object detection equipment that is subject to the Export Administration Regulations. These amendments reflect issues identified by an interagency working group that is reviewing export control issues related to homeland security. The interagency working group is made up of representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security and State. The purpose of the interagency working group is to ensure that appropriate export controls are in place to protect U.S. export control interests for homeland security related items, while at the same time facilitating the development, production and use of items that will enhance U.S. homeland security and the homeland security of key U.S. allies. To help accomplish these objectives, this rule adds three new entries to the Commerce Control List (CCL) to control certain concealed object detection equipment operating in the frequency range from 30 GHz to 3000 GHz and related software and technology. In addition, to facilitate the export and reexport of these items to certain trusted destinations and end-users, this rule adds new license review criteria to the EAR to create a presumption of approval for certain cooperating countries provided the items are being made to a government end-user or to a person designated by the government end-user pursuant to contract.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing this final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the understandings reached at the September 2009 plenary meeting of the Australia Group (AG). This rule also amends the EAR to implement a decision recommended at the 2009 AG Plenary that was adopted under the AG intersessional silent approval procedures in October 2009.

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 rule amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding ten additional persons located in Hong Kong and Taiwan to the Entity List (Supplement No. 4 to Part 744) on the basis of Section 744.11 of the EAR. These persons that are added to the Entity List have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.

In this final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add an entity to the list of validated end-users for the People's Republic of China (PRC) approved to receive exports, reexports and transfers of certain items under Authorization Validated End-User (VEU). Specifically, this rule amends the EAR to add one additional validated end-user and identifies eligible items for export and reexport and transfer (in- country) to one facility in the PRC. In a final rule published in the Federal Register on June 19, 2007, BIS revised and clarified U.S. export control policy for the PRC, establishing Authorization VEU and identifying the PRC as the initial eligible destination.

This final rule amends title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 701, which implements Section 309 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (``Section 309''), as amended. The Bureau of Industry and Security (``BIS'') is amending part 701 to update and provide clarification with regard to the information U.S. firms are required to submit each year to BIS to support BIS's preparation of the annual report to Congress on offsets in defense trade.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing this final rule to amend certain requirements in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that apply to Albania and Croatia. These changes are based upon the accession of Albania and Croatia to formal membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on April 1, 2009. Consistent with the EAR license requirements and licensing policies that apply to members of NATO, this final rule amends the EAR to remove certain crime control (CC), national security (NS), and regional stability (RS) license requirements for these two countries. A license continues to be required for exports and reexports to Albania or Croatia of items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) controlled for national security or regional stability reasons that are identified as requiring a license to destinations indicated under NS Column 1 (also NS Column 2, for Albania) or RS Column 1, respectively, on the Commerce Country Chart. Certain restraint devices, discharge type arms, and related technology described on the CCL continue to require a license for crime control reasons to Albania or Croatia. A license also continues to be required for specially designed implements of torture described on the CCL. Furthermore, this rule does not affect any license requirements that apply to these countries based on other reasons for control identified in the EAR. This final rule also removes the EAR prohibition that applied to certain in transit shipments through Albania, removes Albania from Country Group D, and adds Albania to Country Group B. Croatia has already been designated in the EAR as a Country Group B country. In addition, this rule amends the provisions of License Exception APR (Additional Permissive Reexports) that apply to reexports of certain thermal imaging cameras to include Albania and Croatia among the list of eligible destinations. Finally, this rule amends the definition of ``NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)'' in the EAR to include Albania and Croatia.

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) is proposing to eliminate the use of most paper documents that it sends to parties having business before the agency. The documents that would be affected by this proposed rule are: Export and reexport licenses, notices of denial of license applications, notices of return of a license application without action, classification results, License Exception AGR notification results and encryption review request results. This proposed rule would modify the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement those changes. This proposed rule also would make changes to the recordkeeping requirements associated with the elimination of paper documents. BIS is proposing to make these changes to reduce mailing costs and to free up staff time currently devoted to mailing these documents for use in other tasks.