The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued an interim rule, effective November 16, 2005, which establishes a License Exception authorizing the export or reexport to U.S. persons in Libya of certain items listed on the Commerce Control List (CCL) and controlled for anti-terrorism (AT) reasons only.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a summary of changes to the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) on its Web site, indicating that Version 1.0 was changed or features were added or deleted on October 18, 2005, October 21, 2005, and October 26, 2005 regarding:
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a notice of inquiry seeking public comments by December 6, 2005 on the impact that the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) has had on commercial activities involving "Schedule 1" chemicals through calendar year 2005.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule, effective November 7, 2005, which amends certain provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that affect Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a notice, effective October 31, 2005, announcing that it has updated it Unverified List by adding five entities.
Washington Trade Daily reports that on October 26, 2005, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to include a provision that would repeal the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (the 'Byrd Amendment') in the committee's fiscal year (FY) 2006 budget reconciliation package, which was also approved on October 26, 2005. (WTD, dated 10/27/05, www.washingtontradedaily.com )
The Journal of Commerce reports that the European Commission (EC) is in the final steps of changing its customs code to carry out the supply-chain security goals that the European Parliament agreed to in April 2005. The final draft of the regulations, which is expected to include the creation of an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification, should be available by early 2006. (JOC, dated 10/17/05, www.wsj.com )
According to an editorial in the Journal of Commerce, ports throughout the U.S. are watching PierPASS and if cargo volumes continue to increase at 10% or more at gateways in the Pacific Northwest and on the East Coast, those ports could face the kind of congestion Southern California saw in 2004. The editorial notes that if PierPASS works out its problems in the months ahead, look for similar programs at other ports within the next year or two. (JoC, dated 08/29/05, www.joc.com.)
According to a Textile Development Memo (TDM) issued by the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA), Administration plans are moving forward for President Bush to visit China November 19 and 20, and presumably the Administration would not want textile-related issues to be at the top of the list of irritants during those high level meetings. (TDM, dated 10/18/05, www.usaita.com )
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a notice stating that it is reviewing the "foreign policy-based" export controls in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to determine whether they should be modified, rescinded or extended.