The Census Bureau scheduled a “Go Global” seminar on exporting for small and medium-sized businesses, along with the Small Business Administration, in Glen Ellyn, Ill., June 27, it said in AES Broadcast # 2012039. Census said the seminar is designed to help businesses overcome the information barriers to exporting and remove the perception that exporting is reserved only for large enterprises. Topics include discovering new and existing markets; correctly classifying products; complying with the Foreign Trade Regulations; filing export transactions using the Automated Export System (AES); benefits of freight forwarders; obtaining financing through national export programs; etc. Email documents@brokerpower.com for a copy of this message.

Louisiana ranked as the No. 1 export state (with four rankings of No. 4 or better), according to Enterprising States 2012, a new report by an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Louisiana continues to rebound from the economic impact of the recession, driven by its national leadership in exports, a strong energy sector and its investments in building a more solid, diversified economic base, the report said. The report credits Louisiana's success in part to continued investments in its port infrastructure. It said Louisiana's exports grew at a cumulative rate of 232 percent from 2001 through 2011, more than doubling the growth rate of the U.S. at 103 percent for the same period.

The Bureau of Industry Security is asking for comments on two existing information collections for (a) obtaining a duplicate license when a license is lost or destroyed, and (b) transfer of ownership of validated export licenses. BIS said each action requires a letter to BIS which includes certain information or information and certification, as explained in the EAR at Section 750.9 and Section 750.10 for duplicate licenses and transfer of licenses respectively. BIS said comments should address whether the proposed collection of information is necessary; the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. Comments are due by Aug. 20.

The Census Bureau issued AES Broadcast #2012038 as part of a series of monthly educational broadcast messages on the Automated Export System. This month Census is highlighting AES error codes 504 (License Code Unknown) and 594 (S05 License Not Decremented - Exhausted). The broadcast covers the reasons for the these error messages and how to resolve them, as follows:

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. said it's open to comments on an application it received for a $22.5 million working capital guarantee to support the export of about $21.6 million worth of titanium refining and production equipment to Kazakhstan. The repayment term of the guarantee is 18 months. The U.S. exports will enable the Kazakh firm to produce 7,000 metric tons of titanium per year, to be sold in South Korea. Comments may be sent to economic.impact@exim.gov, or to 811 Vermont Avenue, NW, Room 947, Washington, DC 20571 by July 3.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued an order denying the export privileges of Mohammad Reza Vaghari (aka Mitch Vaghari) and a related person in Saamen Company, LLC until June 3, 2021 (10 years from the date of Vaghari’s conviction), and revoking all licenses issued pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act or the Export Administration Regulations. According to BIS, Vaghari was convicted on June 3, 2011 of, among other things, two counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by willfully and knowingly aiding and abetting in the illegal export of ultrasonic liquid processors, stimulus isolators, and laboratory equipment to Iran via the United Arab Emirates without obtaining the required Office of Foreign Assets Control approval. Vaghari was sentenced to 33 months in prison followed by three years supervised release and a special assessment of $400

The State Department issued a proposed rule to revise USML Category IX (military training equipment and training) to change the title to indicate that the category covers training equipment only (and not “training” as a service), remove catchall categories, narrow the articles controlled on the USML, and make this list of items more positive. At the same time, BIS is proposing the creation of four new 600 series ECCNs to control articles removed from Category IX that would instead be controlled by the CCL. The State Department is not proposing any tiering at this time.

Wassenaar Arrangement negotiations need to precede implementation of any moves from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List, said export control consultant Bill Root, former member of the Bureau of Industry and Security's Rules and Procedures Technical Advisory (RPTAC) and subsequently frequent participant at committee meetings, in public comments at the June 12 RPTAC meeting. Changes to the U.S. export control regime from the USML-CCL move would inevitably be substantive, Root said, and adopting such substantive unilateral U.S. controls would be risky because it would place U.S. exporters at a competitive disadvantage, lessening incentives for Wassenaar members that compete with U.S. exports to later adopt the same controls multilaterally.

The Office of Management and Budget approved the Bureau of Industry and Security’s final rule to implement the Wassenaar Arrangement December 2011 Plenary Agreement’s changes in the Export Administration Regulations. BIS’ final rule will be published in the Federal Register soon.

TransCanada Corp. was selected by Shell Canada Limited to design, build, own and operate the proposed Coastal GasLink project, designed to support exports of liquefied natural gas to Asia, it said. The estimated $4-billion pipeline will transport natural gas from the Montney gas-producing region near Dawson Creek, B.C., to the recently-announced LNG Canada LNG export facility near Kitimat, B.C. Shell and TransCanada are working to finalize definitive agreements on the Coastal GasLink project., they said. The project involves about 700 kilometres of large diameter pipe, with capacity for more than 1.7 billion cubic feet of gas per day. The project is expected to be operational toward the end of the decade, subject to regulatory and corporate approvals, the company said.