BIS Corrects EAR for Certain Syria License Requirements, Etc.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective April 29, 2011, to correct a number of provisions in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). In particular, the rule corrects the country entry for Syria on the Commerce Country Chart to more clearly identify for exporters the licensing requirements that apply to this destination. In addition, the rule corrects other errors in the Commerce Control List (CCL) such as inaccurate references, spelling and technical errors, and removes superfluous wording to ensure accuracy in the EAR.
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Syria Entry Now Refers to General Order Banning Export of CCL Items
The final rule removes all of the “X’s” under all the reasons for control for Syria on the Commerce Country Chart (Supplement No. 1 to 15 CFR Part 738) and adds in their place “See General Order No. 2 in Supplement No. 1 to Part 736 of the EAR to determine whether a license is required to export or reexport to this destination.”
(Previously, this chart had “X’s” under all of the reasons for control -- meaning they were controlled for all of the listed reasons - except for Nuclear Nonproliferation 2, Firearms Convention 1, Crime Control 2 and Anti-terrorism 2.)
BIS states that this change is necessary because a May 2004 final rule inaccurately represented the prohibition on the export to Syria of all items on CCL in the license requirements for Syria on the Commerce Country Chart. This correction serves to more accurately cite the applicable regulatory controls as set forth in the EAR. (See ITT’s Online Archives or 05/18/04 news, 04051815, for BP summary of the May 2004 BIS final rule on General Order No. 2.)
Adds 3 Paragraphs on EAR Scope & Available Technology Deleted in Error
In October 2008, BIS published an interim final rule on “Encryption Simplification” which inadvertently removed subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3) from paragraph (b) of 15 CFR 732.2 on steps regarding scope of the EAR. These subsections discussed the scope of the EAR in relation to publicly available technology and software. This rule restores the following three subparagraphs to section 732.2(b).
(1) If your technology or software is publicly available, and therefore outside the scope of the EAR, you may proceed with the export or reexport if you are not a U.S. person subject to General Prohibition Seven. If you are a U.S. person, go to Step 15 at § 732.3(j) of this part. If you are a U.S. person and General Prohibition Seven concerning proliferation activity of U.S. persons does not apply, then you may proceed with the export or reexport of your publicly available technology or software. Note that all U.S. persons are subject to the provisions of General Prohibition Seven.
(2) If your technology or software is not publicly available and you are exporting from the United States, skip to the Step 7 in § 732.3(b) of this part concerning the general prohibitions.
(3) If you are exporting items from a foreign country, you should then proceed to Step 3 in paragraph (c) of this section and the other steps concerning the scope of the EAR.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 10/07/08 and 10/21/09, news, 08100735, 09102120 for BP summaries of BIS’ Oct 2008 interim final rule on encryption simplification and a clarification of it.)
Removes Inaccurate References to 5 ECCNs in Item Interpretation on Bearings
The final rule also revises 15 CFR 770.2 on item interpretations to remove inaccurate ECCN references in paragraph (a)(1), which provides: “Interpretation 1: Anti-friction bearing or bearing systems and specially designed parts.” The references to the five ECCNs in section 770.2 were inadvertently retained in the regulations when BIS removed the ECCNs from the CCL in an interim rule published in January 1998. This rule amends this error by removing the references to ECCNs: 2A002, 2A003, 2A004, 2A005, and 2A006. This amendment is being made to ensure consistency with the EAR.
Revises 11 ECCNS to Better Describe Controls
In addition, the final rule revises a number of entries with errors on the CCL to provide a complete and more accurate description of controls in the following ECCNs: 0B002, 1B233, 1C006, 1E201, 1E355, 2B005, 6A995, 6D993, 7D001, 9D001, and 9D002.
For example, ECCN 0B002 is amended to redesignate paragraphs that were not correctly designated in an interim rule published in January 1998; ECCN 2B005 is amended to correct a reference error made in a final rule published in April, 2008; etc. (See final rule for descriptions of similar amendments for the other ECCNs.)
BIS contact - Sharron Cook (202) 482-4890 or sharron.cook@bis.doc.gov
(FR Pub 04/29/11, D/N 100709293-1073-01)