The Export-Import Bank received an application for more than $100 million in financial assistance to export Boeing aircraft to Australia. The loan will support the export of Boeing 787 aircraft to Qantas Airways Limited, to be used for long-haul passenger service from Australia to other countries. Comments on the proposed loan are due June 28 and can be submitted to www.regulations.gov.
The Export-Import Bank financed three “dual-use” exports -- items used by the military mainly for civilian or humanitarian purposes -- in 2012, the Government Accountability Office said in its May 29 annual report on the end-uses of Ex-Im’s dual-use exports. The 2012 transactions were a satellite for Eutelsat of France, road construction equipment for the government of Cameroon and three satellites for the government of Mexico. Thus far, little of the equipment financed has been delivered to end users, GAO said. Ex-Im financed no dual-use exports in 2011.
The Export-Import Bank’s business plan does not adequately forecast the total outstanding amount of bank financing or the Bank’s risk of loss -- faults that could lead to the Bank delaying funding for worthy projects or misinforming Congress about its risks, a May 30 study from the Government Accountability Office said. GAO analyzed Ex-Im’s business plan per a requirement in the 2012 Congressional reauthorization of the Bank. In that reauthorization, Congress increased Ex-Im’s exposure limit, which is the limit on the bank’s total aggregate outstanding amount of financing. GAO found the model Ex-Im uses to predict this limit does not factor in changing conditions or a range of potential outcomes.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule on readability changes to the structure of the Validated End User supplement, revisions and deletions to a group of Validated End Users located in China, and to update the list of eligible items for another Validated End User. The rule is effective June 3. BIS modified Supplement 7 to part 748 to improve the display and readability of the list of Validated End Users, their respective eligible items and destinations. The changes should result in significant time and cost savings for Validated End Users, and “are expected to further facilitate exports to civilian end-users in [China],” BIS said.
The Department of Commerce is looking for nominations of possible appointees to America’s 59 District Export Councils. The DECs are affiliated with the U.S. Export Assistance Centers and help plan and coordinate export activities in local communities. Appointees are approved by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Secretary of Commerce. The local Export Assistance Center director will make recommendations to the Secretary after ensuring nominees meet member criteria. Appointment to a council is based on an individual's experience in international trade leadership in their community, their influence in the local export environment and their ability to devote time to DEC activities. Nominees should reside in the territory their DEC covers, or conduct most of their work there. DEC membership is not open to federally-registered lobbyists, federal government employees, or individuals representing foreign governments.
A South African aviation company agreed to pay at least $40,000 to settle Bureau of Industry and Security charges that the company violated the Export Administration Regulations by illegally reexporting aircraft to Sudan without the necessary licenses, BIS reported May 23. In its export violation order, BIS said Solenta Aviation -- located in Johannesburg -- reexported items from South Africa to Sudan without the required Commerce Department license between October 2007 and May 2007. Solenta exported the items, including a Beechcraft 1900 aircraft, pursuant to a lease agreement with Blue Bird Aviation, a company based in Khartoum, Sudan. The Beechcraft 1900 is controlled for anti-terrorism reasons, BIS said. In Sudan, Solenta’s aircraft operated under the livery and logo of Blue Bird Aviation.
The Bureau of Industry and Security’s May 1 webinar on Export Control Reform changes to the Automated Export System is now available online (here). During the webinar, Gerry Horner, director of BIS’s Office of Technology Evaluation, said BIS is moving predeparture filing programs into AES around the weekend of October 12. This will allow users to file in AES by October 14, thus meeting their 24-hour requirement for shipments leaving the U.S. on October 15, Horner said.
The State Department issued a list of countries not cooperating fully with U.S. antiterrorism efforts. The Export Control Act prohibits transactions of defense articles or services with such foreign countries. The countries are:
State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued the following address change May 22:
The Bureau of Industry and Security’s Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee is holding a partially closed meeting June 11 at 9 a.m. in the Herbert Hoover Building in Washington D.C. The agenda includes updates on regulations, export enforcement and the Automated Export System and working group reports. The public portion of the meeting is open to 25 participants via teleconference; to listen, email Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov by June 4. There will also be a limited number of seats available at the meeting.