The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for April 18:
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements added certain cuprammonium rayon filament yarns to the list of items not available in commercial quantities in a timely manner under Appendix 4-B-1 of the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KFTA). The yarns, which are classified in subheading 5403.39 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, were added in unrestricted quantities. Effective April 18, textile or apparel goods imported into the U.S. containing these textured and non-textured cuprammonium rayon filament yarns will be treated as originating goods, regardless of the actual origin of those inputs. Dae Yong Textile Co., Ltd. requested the addition to the KFTA short supply list in March (see 14032423).
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board announced that the scope of production activities at oil refinery FTZ subzones has not been affected by changes made in 2012 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Although the HTS numbers may change, the scope of FTZ Board orders should be interpreted as applying to the new HTS numbers, it said. New HTS numbers for FTZ Board orders related to oil refinery subzones are as follows:
The Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC) will meet April 30 in Washington, D.C. to discuss trade promotion activities, said the Commerce Department. The public session starts at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Preregistration is required by April 25.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) assessed a civil penalty of $250,000 on Oil Services & Trading, Inc., a company based out of Humble, Texas, for violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the Iranian Transactions Regulations. The company allegedly transshipped oil and gas equipment parts through the United Arab Emirates to Iran between 2006 and 2008, BIS said. BIS will waive $150,000 of the penalty after two years if Oil Services & Trading, Inc. maintains compliance. The company knowingly committed the violation without the proper U.S. government authorization, said BIS. BIS also said Oil Services & Trading, Inc. is not permitted to export any items subject to the EAR for a period of five years.
The Commerce Department’s Assistant Secretary for Export Administration, Kevin Wolf, will not hold his weekly Export Control Reform teleconference on April 16 and April 23, the Bureau of Industry and Security said. Wolf is scheduled to resume the weekly teleconferences on April 30.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) proposal to modify the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) may fail to address the inherent export compliance problems with “routed export transactions,” said American Association of Exporters and Importers President Marianne Rowden in comments on the proposed rule dated April 7. Under the proposal, in transactions where the foreign principal party in interest (FPPI) is the exporter, currently known as a "routed export transactions" (i.e., where the foreign party serves as the exporter), the FPPI would have to direct its U.S. agent to share certain transaction information with the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) (see 14020524). But even if authorized, that information is often difficult to get from the FPPI's U.S. agent, said Rowden.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for April 9:
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) proposed to remove the requirement to obtain an International Import Certificate (IC) or Delivery Verification (DV) for exports, reexports and in-country transfers subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on April 9 (see 14040817). The proposal also changes the support documents required to be submitted for license applications under the EAR and includes additional, technical changes to the EAR. Public comments on the proposal are due by June 9, and may be submitted by publiccomments@bis.doc.gov, physical mail or http://www.regulations.gov, identification number BIS-2014-0009. The changes draw from comments BIS requested in August 2011.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for April 8: