The Bureau of Industry and Security is soliciting private-sector members for its seven technical advisory committees which advise the Commerce Department on the technical parameters for export controls applicable to dual-use commodities and technology and on the administration of those controls. BIS states that recruitment will be open until January 16, 2013 (one year from its Federal Register publication date).

The Bureau of Industry and Security has posted its fiscal year 2011 Annual Report to Congress for the October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011 period. The report includes information on its FY 2011 activities in the areas of export control reform, export licensing, export enforcement, industry outreach activities, international regimes and treaty compliance, etc. With respect to its enforcement activities, BIS notes that criminal fines rose by 60%, civil penalties fell substantially (due in large part to one large penalty in FY 2010 which was not repeated in FY 2011), and the number of antiboycott cases fell by almost half.

The Census Bureau has issued an AES Broadcast that serves as an initial notification of upcoming changes to the AES Compliance Report. In an effort to increase the awareness of the requirement to resolve all AES Fatal Errors, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division will modify the AES Compliance Rate calculation to include outstanding Fatal Errors. This modification will provide AES filers a complete Compliance Rate that reflects a filer’s effort to maintain compliance with the Foreign Trade Regulations. As a reminder, 15 CFR Part 30 - Foreign Trade Regulations Section 30.9 states that these errors must be corrected and EEI resubmitted prior to export for shipments filed predeparture and as soon as possible for shipments filed postdeparture but not later than ten calendar days after departure. What filers can do in the meantime include:

On January 20, 2012, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls announced the following entity name and/or address changes for new DDTC license applications (see each notice for specific instructions for currently approved, pending, and new DSP authorizations and agreements, etc.):

On January 19, 2012, the Office of Foreign Assets Control added four individuals and four entities to its "Specially Designated Nationals" list, that have been identified as pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. SDNs are (i) individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries or (ii) individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. The assets of listed SDNs are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.

On January 13, 2012, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls announced the following entity name and/or address change(s) for new DDTC license applications (see each notice for specific instructions for currently approved, pending, and new DSP authorizations and agreements, etc.):

The Office of Foreign Assets Control will be holding a Financial Industry Symposium on March 20, 2012 in Washington, D.C. to dialog and exchange views and information on current and emerging U.S. economic sanctions regulations. OFAC has now published more information on this symposium, and notes that registration for this free event will close on Friday, January 20, 2012. OFAC's new information and link to registration page available here.

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has issued a reminder that an electronic copy of the Annual Sales Reports to DDTC for Manufacturing License Agreements (MLAs) and Distribution Agreements should be uploaded to the respective approved license for the base agreement. If calendar year reporting is done, this information should be gathered and submitted now. (DDTC reminder dated 01.12.12)

The Census Bureau has issued AES Broadcast #2012005 as part of a new series of monthly educational broadcast messages on the Automated Export System. This month Census is highlighting AES fatal error codes 120 (Carrier Unknown) and 121 (Carrier Code Must Be 2 Characters or 3 Letters). The broadcast covers the reasons for these error messages and how to resolve them. Email documents@brokerpower.com for a copy of the January 17, 2012 broadcast.

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has posted a reminder that all companies and individuals registered as a broker at any time during calendar year 2011 must submit an annual brokering report to DDTC by January 31, 2012. Guidance on what must be included in the report can be found in 22 CFR 129.9.