The European Union should move forward quickly with approvals for 13 pending soy, maize, rapeseed, cotton biotechnology products, a group of U.S. agriculture producers said in recent days. The EU has slowed processing time for biotech products, and the body has halted new approvals since November 2013, said the agricultural groups in a letter. U.S. trade officials and advocates have long pressed for quicker approvals and more biotech access to the European market (see 14082502). “Timely action by the European Commission will avoid the risk of disruption to the essential supply of feedstocks needed by the EU’s livestock, poultry and feed industries, which are more than 70 percent dependent on imported protein,” said the groups (here), adding that 57 biotech products are currently at some stage in the EU vetting process. “The uncertainty and undue delays surrounding import approvals are creating unnecessary costs for producers and the agri-supply chain.” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will meet with European Union Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan in Washington on Feb. 19 (see 1502150005).

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) presented a litany of recommendations related to export licensing, at the committee’s Feb. 11 meeting in San Francisco. Many of the recommendations were related to alignment of license requirements and enforcement across ports and agencies. Highlights of the recommendations from COAC are as follows:

International markets and consumers are providing a critical lifeline to U.S. manufacturing, and Congress needs to ensure U.S. companies are accessing the best opportunities abroad, said National Association of Manufacturers President Jay Timmons on Feb. 4 during a speech in Minneapolis. Trade Promotion Authority is fundamental to that agenda, he said.

U.S. agricultural producers and several lawmakers launched the Agriculture Coalition for Cuba on Jan. 8, in a move to push forward on U.S. agricultural export growth to the Cuban market (here). The American Farm Bureau, the National Farmers Union, the American Soybean Association and almost 30 other organizations called on the Obama administration to break down barriers to bilateral trade (here). At the formal launch, Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., also touted potential gains for U.S. industry (here). Obama issued an executive order in December to move to normalize relations with the country (see 1412170032).

The President’s Export Council supports passage of Trade Promotion Authority and progress in negotiations on international pacts, the independent, public-private committee said in a recent report to President Barack Obama. The mid-term report presses Trans-Pacific Partnership progress and African Growth and Opportunity renewal, but doesn’t urge a specific date or timeframe for the administration to wrap up TPP negotiations or sign AGOA legislation. The AGOA expires in September. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should make real progress in Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks by the end of 2015, said the export council. The committee praised progress at the World Trade Organization in a number of negotiations, and other U.S. commitments to increase trade.

The Commerce and State departments transfers of dual-use items from U.S. Munitions List (USML) Category XI (Military Electronics) to the Commerce Control List (CCL) took effect on Dec. 30. As part of the broad Export Control Reform, Obama administration officials are identifying and shifting controls to Commerce for a wide range of USML items.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added the following company and individuals to the Denied Persons List in recent days (here).

The Commerce Department is revising the Export Administration Regulations to clarify that six Export Control Classification Numbers don’t control some parts, components, accessories and attachments because those items will be covered in Export Control Reform rules set to be implemented on Dec. 30 (here). Commerce and State published rules on July 1 to transfer some military electric controls from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List (see 14070104). Those rules are effective on Dec. 30, and will put in place the controls on electronics that the six ECCNs currently cover, Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security said in this final rule. The newly-created “600 series” in the CCL will now cover the electronic goods. This final rule also removes controls on some monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifiers and discrete microwave transistors and related technology, saying those controls are obsolete. The final rule also makes changes to clarify the “specially designed” application for printed circuit boards, populated circuit card assemblies and multi-chip modules.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is waiving an export control provision that requires CBP to decrement DSP-73 temporary export licenses under certain circumstances, it said (here). The waiver will apply only to the export of Government Furnished Equipment hand carried out of the U.S. for use in service of a U.S. government contract. The waiver will serve as a “temporary solution addressing the need for U.S. companies to equip personnel with certain defense articles when deploying overseas in support of U.S. government missions,” said DDTC.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Nov. 28 released trouble-shooting techniques to resolve Fatal Error notification issues in the Automated Export System. Fatal Errors occur when a shipment is rejected in AES.