The Commerce Department will lead a business development mission to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The March 8-14 mission, which will be lead by the Secretary of Commerce, will focus on infrastructure sectors including project management and engineering, renewable energy, smart grid and energy efficiency, and environmental technologies, Commerce said. In each country, participants will meet with pre-screened potential agents, distributors, representatives, and other business partners and government officials. The mission will be open to 20-25 companies, with applications due by Jan. 17.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) denied export privileges for Donald Bernardo for five years from the Nov. 16, 2011 date of Bernando’s conviction for knowingly and willfully negotiating and arranging contracts, purchases, sales, and transfers of defense articles involving Venezuela. Bernando was convicted of selling C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, in return for a fee, commission and other consideration, without first registering with the State Department. BIS provided Bernando an opportunity to make a written submission regarding the denial decision, but BIS said Bernando did not submit a statement.
The Obama Administration is amending the Export Administration Regulations by adding 36 persons under 46 entries to the Entity List, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) said. The Entity List is a compilation of entities that the administration deems likely to engage in the export, reexport or transfer of weapons of mass destruction. The administration is also revising three existing entries and removing one entry.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Dec. 11:
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board granted approval to the Northwest Iowa Development Corporation to establish FTZ 288 under the Alternative Site Framework. The new zone will cover Cherokee, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola, Plymouth and Sioux Counties, Iowa, and will be adjacent to the Sioux Falls CBP port of entry.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Dec. 6:
The Brownsville Navigation District has submitted an application to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to reorganize FTZ 62 under the Alternative Site Framework, said FTZB in a Federal Register notice. Under the reorganization, the FTZ service area would cover Cameron County, Texas. ASF streamlines processes for designation of new FTZ subzones and usage driven sites within the larger service area. It allows companies to request zone status through the relatively simple "minor boundary modification" process. Comments on the application are due by Feb. 7.
The U.S. Commercial Service will host an Automated Export System (AES) Compliance Seminar and an AESPcLink Workshop in Milwaukee, Wis. on Dec. 16-17, the Census Bureau said. The events were originally scheduled on Oct. 9-10, but were canceled due to the government shutdown. Census Bureau experts will cover Foreign Trade Regulations filing requirements and provide an overview of AES at the seminar. Commerce Department and Department of Homeland Security officials will provide training on AESPcLink filing at the workshop. The event details are as follows:
The Commerce Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in March 2014 will discontinue issuance of Specially Designated Nationals data files in the 32 bit self-extracting archive known as “SDALLW32.EXE.” OFAC will continue to provide and update the 32 bit .zip archive known as “SDALL.ZIP.” The change may impact SDN download processes. OFAC recommends users utilize the .ZIP file. Those interested in providing feedback should contact OFAC at O_F_A_C@treasury.gov.
The U.S. international trade deficit in goods and services decreased to $40.6 billion in October from $43 billion in September, said the Census Bureau Dec. 3 in a monthly report. U.S. exports in goods and services increased to $192.7 billion in October from $189.3 billion in September. U.S. imports increased to $233.3 billion in October from $232.3 billion in September. The goods deficit specifically decreased $2.2 billion in October to $60.2 billion. U.S. exports of goods increased $3 billion to $135.3 billion, and imports of goods increased $0.8 billion to $195.5 billion. The October figures suggested export increases in industrial supplies and consumer goods, along with import increases in industrial supplies and consumer goods.