The following entries have been removed from the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Denied Persons List effective Aug. 22 because of the expiration of a Temporary Denial Order:

The Bureau of Industry and Security is asking for comments by Nov. 5 on its existing information collection on offset agreements exceeding $5 million in value associated with sales of weapon systems or defense-related items to foreign countries or foreign firms. Such offsets are required by most major trading partners when purchasing U.S. military equipment or defense related items. An annual report based on offset agreements and offset transactions data reported to BIS by industry is submitted to Congress on the impact of offsets in defense trade on the U.S.

The Agricultural Marketing Service released the “Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report” for the week of Aug. 29 - Sept. 4. The weekly report contains data on container availability for westbound transpacific traffic at 18 intermodal locations in the U.S.¹ from the 10 member carriers of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA)². Although the report is compiled by AMS, it covers container availability for all merchandise, not just agricultural products.

The Census Bureau announced automated export system (AES) seminars and AESPcLink workshops in Wilmington, N.C., on Sept. 19-20 (here); Denver on Oct. 3-4 (here); and Memphis on Oct. 17-18 (here). The seminars will be in conjunction with the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC). At each seminar, on the first day, Census experts will cover the filing requirements of the Foreign Trade Regulations, Schedule B classification requirements, export controls, and best practices, and provide an overview of AES. On the second day, two AESPcLink Workshops will be conducted. Email documents@brokerpower.com for a copy of AES Broadcast #2012058.

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is opening a 14-day comment period on an application for a $21 million guarantee to support the $19 million export of a wire rod mill to the Czech Republic, it said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for Aug. 31. The U.S. export will replace an existing facility and enable the Czech company to expand production of wire rod by around 50,000 metric tons annually during the 8.5-year repayment term. Comments are due Sept. 14 to economic.impact@exim.gov.

The Census Bureau scheduled the fifth webinar in its eight-part series on “The Fundamentals of Exporting” on Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. The webinar, “Filing Export Information Electronically — The ABCs of AES,” will help exporters to easily manage export reporting by learning the do’s and don’ts of transmitting information through the Automated Export System (AES), Census said. Exporters will learn how to report shipments to the AES, how to avoid common problems, and how to respond to error messages. Census will also examine AES compliance and managing shipments by using best practices, it said. Registration is available here.

The Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) will host an Automated Export System Compliance Seminar and an AESPcLink Workshop in New Orleans Sept. 11-12, the Census Bureau said in AES Broadcast # 2012057. At the seminar on Sept. 11, Census experts will cover the filing requirements of the Foreign Trade Regulations, Schedule B classification requirements, and provide an overview of AES. On the second day, Sept. 12, two AESPcLink Workshops will be conducted. More information is available here, and registration is available here. Email documents@brokerpower.com for a copy of this message.

The Census Bureau revised its Automated Export System (AES) Best Practices Manual. Among other changes, Census added an Export Filing Resources section, which includes a list of resources available for training and informational purposes. The AES Best Practices Manual is available here.

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. posted the following notices of commitments for loans of more than $100 million to support exports. Parties have 25 days to comment on each:

The Agricultural Marketing Service released the “Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report” for the week of Aug. 22-28. The weekly report contains data on container availability for westbound transpacific traffic at 18 intermodal locations in the U.S.¹ from the 10 member carriers of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA)². Although the report is compiled by AMS, it covers container availability for all merchandise, not just agricultural products.