[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 30, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16110-16111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-6271]



[[Page 16110]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security

15 CFR Part 744

[Docket No. 040615184-4184-01]
RIN 0694-AD15


Amendments Affecting the Country Scope of the Chemical/Biological 
End-User/End-Use Controls

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing this 
final rule to amend the chemical and biological weapons end-user/end-
use controls in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). 
Specifically, this final rule expands the country scope of the EAR 
restrictions on certain chemical and biological weapons end-uses to 
apply to exports and reexports of items subject to the EAR to any 
destination, worldwide. Prior to the publication of this rule, such 
restrictions applied only to exports and reexports of items subject to 
the EAR to certain countries of concern for chemical and/or biological 
reasons. The amendments are consistent with the ``catch-all'' 
provisions in the Australia Group's (AG) ``Guidelines for Transfers of 
Sensitive Chemical or Biological Items.''

DATES: This rule is effective March 30, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0694-AD15, by any 
of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``RIN 0694-AD15'' in 
the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 482-3355. Please alert the Regulatory Policy 
Division, by calling (202) 482-2440, if you are faxing comments.
     Mail or Hand Delivery/Courier: Willard Fisher, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Regulatory 
Policy Division, 14th St. & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 2705, 
Washington, DC 20230, Attn: RIN 0694-AD15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Sagrans, Office of 
Nonproliferation and Treaty Compliance, Bureau of Industry and 
Security, Telephone: (202) 482-7900.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This rule expands the country scope of the ``end-user/end-use'' 
controls in Section 744.4(a) of the EAR. Section 744.4 sets forth the 
EAR ``end-user/end-use'' provisions that apply to chemical and 
biological weapons end-uses. Section 744.4(a) of the EAR requires a 
license to export or reexport items subject to the EAR if, at the time 
of the export or reexport, the exporter or reexporter knows that the 
items are intended for chemical or biological weapons activities. Prior 
to the publication of this rule, the country scope of this ``end-user/
end-use'' license requirement applied only to countries of concern for 
chemical and biological weapons reasons (i.e., Country Group D:3 in 
Supplement 1 to part 740 of the EAR). This final rule amends Section 
744.4(a) of the EAR to expand the number of countries subject to this 
EAR ``end-user/end-use'' license requirement to include all 
destinations, worldwide, including the countries identified in Country 
Group A:3 (i.e., the AG-participating countries). The amendments are 
consistent with the ``catch-all'' provisions in the Australia Group's 
(AG) ``Guidelines for Transfers of Sensitive Chemical or Biological 
Items'' (Guidelines).
    The AG-related changes described above do not affect Section 
744.4(b) of the EAR, which describes certain ``end-user/end-use'' 
license requirements that apply to any exporter or reexporter who has 
been ``informed'' by BIS that a license is required by a certain end-
user due to an unacceptable risk of use in or diversion to chemical or 
biological weapons activities, because this EAR provision currently has 
a worldwide country scope that is consistent with the equivalent 
``catch-all'' provision in the AG Guidelines.
    This rule imposes new export controls for foreign policy reasons. 
As required by section 6 of the Export Administration Act of 1979, as 
amended (the Act), a report on the imposition of these controls was 
delivered to the Congress on March 21, 2005. Although the Act expired 
on August 20, 2001, Executive Order 13222 of August 17, 2001, 3 CFR, 
2001 Comp., p. 783 (2002), as extended by the Notice of August 6, 2004, 
69 FR 48763 (August 10, 2004), has continued the Export Administration 
Regulations in effect under the International Emergency Economic Powers 
Act.

Savings Clause

    Shipments of items removed from license exception eligibility or 
eligibility for export without a license as a result of this regulatory 
action that were on dock for loading, on lighter, laden aboard an 
exporting carrier, or en route aboard a carrier to a port of export, on 
April 14, 2005, pursuant to actual orders for export to a foreign 
destination, may proceed to that destination under the previous license 
exception eligibility or without a license so long as they have been 
exported from the United States before April 29, 2005. Any such items 
not actually exported before midnight, on April 29, 2005, require a 
license in accordance with this regulation.

Rulemaking Requirements

    1. This rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes 
of Executive Order 12866.
    2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty 
for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.) (PRA), unless that collection of information displays a currently 
valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number. This rule 
contains a collection of information subject to the requirements of the 
PRA. This collection has been approved by OMB under Control Number 
0694-0088 (Multi-Purpose Application), which carries a burden hour 
estimate of 58 minutes to prepare and submit form BIS-748. Send 
comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this 
collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the 
burden, to David Rostker, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), by e-
mail to [email protected], or by fax to (202) 395-7285; and to 
the Regulatory Policy Division, Bureau of Industry and Security, 
Department of Commerce, P.O. Box 273, Washington, DC 20044.
    3. This rule does not contain policies with Federalism implications 
as that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.
    4. The provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 
553) requiring notice of proposed rulemaking, the opportunity for 
public participation, and a delay in effective date, are inapplicable 
because this regulation involves a military and foreign affairs 
function of the United States (Sec. 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1)). Further, no 
other law requires that a notice of proposed rulemaking and an 
opportunity for public comment be given for this final rule. Because a 
notice of proposed rulemaking and an opportunity for public comment are 
not required to be given for this rule under 5 U.S.C. 553 or by any 
other law, the analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are not applicable.
    Therefore, this regulation is issued in final form. Although there 
is no formal comment period, public comments on

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this regulation are welcome on a continuing basis.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 744

    Exports, Foreign trade, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

0
Accordingly, part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR 
parts 730-799) is amended as follows:

PART 744--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 744 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 50 U.S.C. app. 2401 et seq.; 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; 
22 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 2139a; Sec. 901-911, Pub. L. 106-
387; Sec. 221, Pub. L. 107-56; E.O. 12058, 43 FR 20947, 3 CFR, 1978 
Comp., p. 179; E.O. 12851, 58 FR 33181, 3 CFR, 1993 Comp., p. 608; 
E.O. 12938, 59 FR 59099, 3 CFR, 1994 Comp., p. 950; E.O. 12947, 60 
FR 5079, 3 CFR, 1995 Comp., p. 356; E.O. 13026, 61 FR 58767, 3 CFR, 
1996 Comp., p. 228; E.O. 13099, 63 FR 45167, 3 CFR, 1998 Comp., p. 
208; E.O. 13222, 66 FR 44025, 3 CFR, 2001 Comp., p. 783; E.O. 13224, 
66 FR 49079, 3 CFR, 2001 Comp., p. 786; Notice of October 29, 2003, 
68 FR 62209, 3 CFR, 2003 Comp., p. 347; Notice of August 6, 2004, 69 
FR 48763 (August 10, 2004).


0
2. Section 744.4 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  744.4  Restrictions on certain chemical and biological weapons 
end-uses.

    (a) General prohibition. In addition to the license requirements 
for items specified on the CCL, you may not export or reexport an item 
subject to the EAR without a license if, at the time of export or 
reexport you know that the item will be used in the design, 
development, production, stockpiling, or use of chemical or biological 
weapons in or by any country or destination, worldwide.
* * * * *

    Dated: March 23, 2005.
Matthew S. Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-6271 Filed 3-29-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P