The Office of Management and Budget approved the final rules that will move the next set of items from State Department jurisdiction to the dual-use Commerce Control List. OMB approved Bureau of Industry and Security and State Department rules to move submersible vessels, oceanographic equipment and related items from the U.S. Munitions List to the CCL. The State rules also cover amendments to Category VII and XII; tanks and military vehicles and auxiliary military equipment, respectively. OMB also approved BIS and State Department proposed rules on spacecraft systems.

The Obama administration should push forward with the export control reform initiative to ensure all new regulations are published by the end of 2013, though the reconciliation of the U.S. Munitions List and Commerce Control List should not be considered the final step in the reform project, a coalition of major industry groups said May 9. The Coalition for Security and Competitiveness commended the administration’s work on export control reform in a letter to President Obama. Members of the group include the National Foreign Trade Council, American Association of Exporters and Importers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition for Employment through Exports.

The Export-Import Bank approved a $45.5 million loan guarantee to a Brazilian airline May 9, a move that will support the export of Delta engine maintenance services. VRG Linhaus Aereas S.A. will ship its engines from São Paulo, Brazil, to Atlanta, Ga., where Delta TechOps is located, for maintenance and repair. Ex-Im said. TechOps is a subsidiary of Delta Airlines. Ex-Im approved another $84.8 million loan guarantee to the Brazilian airline last April, which also supported the export of maintenance services by Delta, the Bank said.

The Export-Import Bank received a request for more than $100 million in financial assistance to support the export of Boeing 777 aircraft to Asiana Airlines in South Korea. The planes will be used for long-haul passenger service from South Korea to other countries. Comments on this application are due June 3 and can be submitted to www.regulations.gov.

Computer manufacturers, through the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), are "pressing hard" for "export-for-repair" exemptions in the Basel Convention treaty that would inundate developing countries with mountains of e-waste shipped there on the false premise that the junk can be refurbished and resold, according to the Basel Action Network (BAN). BAN claims the proposed exemptions would allow "untested or non-functional" e-waste, much of it containing toxic materials, "to be considered a non-waste and subject to free-trade in many circumstances so long as the exporter can claim that that the old equipment might be repairable."

The Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee of the Export Import Bank is holding a public meeting May 15, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. EDT in Washington D.C. The Committee will present on recent developments in Sub-Saharan African markets, Ex-Im's business development initiatives in the region and discuss challenges and opportunities for U.S. exporters. Members of the public may file written statements with Ex-Im before or after the meeting, as well as attend the meeting.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will hold a teleconference and webinar May 1 on changes to the Automated Export System that will result from the initial implementation to Export Control Reform final rule (see 13041518). Gerry Horner, director-Office of Technology Evaluation at the Bureau of Industry and Security, will discuss Export Administration Regulations Parts 758.1 and 758.2 on AES filing and post-departure filing requirements. He will also talk about what specific AES changes may impact software providers and companies with in-house programs that interface with AES, BIS said. Participants will be able to ask questions via email during the webinar.

The Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee of the Export-Import Bank is postponing its April 30 open meeting until further notice. See 13041501 for initial announcement of the meeting.

The amount of containerized exports carried on ships from the U.S. increased again in 2012 based on data from Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS) reviewed by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), said Commissioner William Doyle in a statement. Doyle also noted that the total merchandise exports from all 50 states helped contribute to the record-setting value of goods and services exported in 2012, which reached $2.2 trillion, an improvement from 2011. Nationwide, 2012 U.S. merchandise exports to countries with which the U.S. has trade agreements continued to outpace other markets, said Doyle. The top-10 carriers of containerized export in 2012, according to PIERS, were:

Boeing Corp. requested more than $100 million in financial assistance from the Export Import Bank, to export their 737 Aircraft to WestJet Airlines Ltd. The planes will be used for Canadian domestic passenger air service and Canadian cross-border passenger air service between Canada and Mexico, the U.S. or the Caribbean.