State Department Announces Name Change from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to "Serbia and Montenegro
The State Department has issued a notice announcing that on February 4, 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia changed its name to "Serbia and Montenegro."
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In addition, on February 7, 2003, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names confirmed the name "Serbia and Montenegro" as a new form for official usage (replacing "Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of").
ISO Code Changed from "YU" to "CS," But "YU" Must Still be Used in ACS
According to the 2004 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for Serbia and Montenegro is now "CS" (replacing the previous ISO code of "YU" for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).
However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources state that the Automated Commercial System (ACS) is not able to accept "CS" as the ISO code for Serbia and Montenegro.
ACS reads "CS" as the ISO code for the former Czechoslovakia, even though "CZ" is now the ISO code for the Czech Republic (the successor name for Czechoslovakia).
As a result, CBP sources state that the trade must continue to use the ISO code of "YU" for Serbia and Montenegro for ACS purposes. One source noted that CBP has asked the ISO to change the ISO code for Serbia and Montenegro to something other than "CS," but is it not yet known if, or when, such a change would occur.
AES Requires "CS" as ISO Code for Serbia and Montenegro
Sources state that although ACS cannot accept "CS" as the ISO code for Serbia and Montenegro, this problem doesn't exist for the Automated Export System (AES), which requires "CS" as the ISO code for Serbia and Montenegro.
The AES Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) have been updated to reflect the addition of the ISO code of "CS" for Serbia and Montenegro and the deletion of the ISO code "YU" for Yugoslavia.
Serbia and Montenegro Should be Used for Country of Origin Purposes
According to CBP sources, for country of origin purposes, the phrase "Serbia and Montenegro" should now be used. Sources note that the use of Serbia or Montenegro separately would not be acceptable.
It is not known if CBP will issue instructions on this name change.
(The State Department also notes that the FIPS 10 geographical code remains as it was under the previous name, YI.)
State Department notice (Public Notice 4592, FR Pub 01/22/04) available at
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-1354.pdf.