Census Proposes Rule to Amend FTSR to Require AES Reporting of Kimberley Process Certificate Number
The U.S. Census Bureau (Census) has issued a proposed rule that would amend the Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations (FTSR) to incorporate the requirement for reporting the Kimberley Process Certificate (KPC) number for exports/reexports of rough diamonds filed through the Automated Export System (AES) in accordance with the Clean Diamond Trade Act (Public Law (P.L.) 108-19).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
(According to Census, this proposed rule would serve to carry out the purposes of Executive Order (EO) 13312, which was issued to implement P.L. 108-19, and implements the U.S. Government's participation in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) for rough diamonds.
The purpose of the KPCS is to prevent the import and export of "conflict diamonds," which are rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance conflict aimed at undermining legitimate governments, as described in various United Nations resolutions. See ITT's Online Archives or 04/16/03 and 08/01/03 news, 03041605 and 03080110, for BP summaries of P.L. 108-19 and EO 13312, respectively.)
FTSR Would be Amended to Include AES Reporting Requirement for KPC Number
Census states that it amended the FTSR on October 20, 2003 to incorporate the requirements for the mandatory electronic filing via AES of exports of rough diamonds. (See ITT's Online Archives or 10/23/03 news, 03102325, for Census final rule on mandatory AES filing.)
Now Census is proposing to amend the FTSR by adding a new paragraph b(22) to 15 CFR 30.63 to require the reporting through AES of the KPC number found on the KPC for all exports of rough diamonds classified under HTS 7102.10, 7102.21, and 7102.31.
The proposed new paragraph also states that the KPC number would be entered in the license number field excluding the 2-digit U.S. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) country code.
Census states that this proposed requirement would not affect filers of [paper] Shipper's Export Declarations (SEDs) since all exports of rough diamonds are required to be filed through AES.
In addition, Census notes that shipments of rough diamonds from the U.S. must also meet additional requirements identified in the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC's) Rough Diamond Control Regulations (31 CFR Part 592). (See ITT's Online Archives or 09/28/04 news, (Ref:04092820), for BP summary of OFAC's final rule on the KPCS, etc.)
-written comments must be submitted on or before February 11, 2005.
Census contact - C. Harvey Monk Jr. (301) 763-2255
Census proposed rule (D/N 041029301-4301-01, FR Pub 01/12/05) available athttp://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-597.pdf