[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 6, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61104-61106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21333]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security

15 CFR Part 748

[Docket No. 160810722-6722-01]
RIN 0694-AH05


Amendments to Existing Validated End-User Authorization in the 
People's Republic of China: Boeing Tianjin Composites Co. Ltd.

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends 
the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to revise the existing 
Validated End-User (VEU) list for the People's Republic of China (PRC) 
by updating the list of eligible destinations (facilities) for VEU 
Boeing Tianjin Composites Co. Ltd. (BTC). Specifically, BIS amends 
supplement No. 7 to part 748 of the EAR to change the written address 
of BTC's existing facility. The physical location of the facility has 
not changed. BIS updated the facility address after receiving 
notification of the change from BTC. The End-User Review Committee 
reviewed and authorized the amendment in accordance with established 
procedures. The updated address contributes to maintaining accurate 
location information for BTC's VEU.

DATES: This rule is effective September 6, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chair, End-User Review Committee, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, Export Administration, Bureau of 
Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, Phone: 202-482-
5991; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

Authorization Validated End-User

    Validated End-Users (VEUs) are designated entities located in 
eligible destinations to which eligible items may be exported, 
reexported, or transferred (in-country) under a general authorization 
instead of a license. The names of the VEUs, as well as the dates they 
were so designated, and their respective eligible destinations 
(facilities) and items are identified in supplement No. 7 to part 748 
of the EAR. Under the terms described in that supplement, VEUs may 
obtain eligible items without an export license from BIS, in conformity 
with Sec.  748.15 of the EAR. Eligible items vary between VEUs and may 
include commodities, software, and technology, except those controlled 
for missile technology or crime control reasons on the Commerce Control 
List (CCL) (part 774 of the EAR).
    VEUs are reviewed and approved by the U.S. Government in accordance 
with the provisions of Sec.  748.15 and supplement Nos. 8 and 9 to part 
748 of the EAR. The End-User Review Committee (ERC), composed of 
representatives from the Departments of State, Defense, Energy, 
Commerce, and other agencies as appropriate, is responsible for 
administering the VEU program. BIS amended the EAR in a final rule 
published on June 19, 2007 (72 FR 33646), to create Authorization VEU.

Amendment to Existing VEU Authorization for Boeing Tianjin Composites 
Co. Ltd. (BTC) in the People's Republic of China

Revision to the List of ``Eligible Destinations'' for BTC

    In this rule, BIS amends supplement No. 7 to part 748 to revise 
BTC's VEU authorization. Specifically, in this rule, BIS updates the 
written address of BTC's facility in the People's Republic of China to 
which the company's eligible items may be exported, reexported or 
transferred (in-country). The physical location of the facility has not 
changed.
    The amendment to the address of BTC's facility is in response to a 
request from BTC. This amendment was approved by the ERC. The revision 
is as follows:

[[Page 61105]]

Revision to Address of BTC's Eligible Destination (Facility)

    Current address: Boeing Tianjin Composites Co. Ltd., No. 4-388 
Hebei Road, Tanggu Tianjin, China.
    New address: Boeing Tianjin Composites Co. Ltd., 4566 Hebei Road, 
Marine Hi-Tech Development Area, Tanggu District, Tianjin, China 
300451.

Export Administration Act

    Although the Export Administration Act expired on August 20, 2001, 
the President, through Executive Order 13222 of August 17, 2001, 3 CFR, 
2001 Comp., p. 783 (2002), as amended by Executive Order 13637 of March 
8, 2013, 78 FR 16129 (March 13, 2013) and as extended by the Notice of 
August 4, 2016, 81 FR 52587 (August 8, 2016), has continued the Export 
Administration Regulations in effect under the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act. BIS continues to carry out the provisions of the 
Export Administration Act, as appropriate and to the extent permitted 
by law, pursuant to Executive Order 13222 as amended by Executive Order 
13637.

Rulemaking Requirements

    1. Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 direct agencies to assess all 
costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if 
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize 
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public 
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive 
Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and 
benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting flexibility. 
This rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of 
Executive Order 12866.
    2. This rule involves collections previously approved by the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) under Control Number 0694-0088, ``Multi-
Purpose Application,'' which carries a burden hour estimate of 43.8 
minutes to prepare and submit form BIS-748; and for recordkeeping, 
reporting and review requirements in connection with Authorization VEU, 
which carries an estimated burden of 30 minutes per submission. This 
rule is expected to result in a decrease in license applications 
submitted to BIS. Total burden hours associated with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (PRA) and OMB Control 
Number 0694-0088 are not expected to increase significantly as a result 
of this rule. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor be subject to a penalty for failure to 
comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of 
the PRA, unless that collection of information displays a currently 
valid OMB Control Number.
    3. This rule does not contain policies with Federalism implications 
as that term is defined under Executive Order 13132.
    4. Pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(B), BIS finds good cause to waive the otherwise applicable 
requirement that this rule be subject to notice and the opportunity for 
public comment because it is unnecessary. In determining whether to 
grant VEU designations, a committee of U.S. Government agencies 
evaluates information about and commitments made by candidate 
companies, the nature and terms of which are set forth in 15 CFR part 
748, supplement No. 8. The criteria for evaluation by the committee are 
set forth in 15 CFR 748.15(a)(2). The information, commitments, and 
criteria for this extensive review were all established through the 
notice of proposed rulemaking and public comment process (71 FR 38313 
(July 6, 2006) (proposed rule), and 72 FR 33646 (June 19, 2007) (final 
rule)). Given the similarities between the authorizations provided 
under the VEU program and export licenses (as discussed further below), 
the publication of this information does not establish new policy. In 
publishing this final rule, BIS amends the authorization for an 
existing eligible VEU to update the address of the eligible destination 
(facility). This change has been made within the established regulatory 
framework of the VEU program. Further, this rule does not abridge the 
rights of the public or eliminate the public's option to export under 
any of the forms of authorization set forth in the EAR.
    Publication of this rule in other than final form is unnecessary 
because the authorizations granted in the rule are consistent with the 
authorizations granted to exporters for individual licenses (and 
amendments or revisions thereof), which do not undergo public review. 
In addition, as with license applications, VEU authorization 
applications contain confidential business information, which is 
necessary for the extensive review conducted by the U.S. Government in 
assessing such applications. This information is extensively reviewed 
according to the criteria for VEU authorizations, as set out in 15 CFR 
748.15(a)(2). Additionally, just as license applications are reviewed 
through an interagency review process, the authorizations granted under 
the VEU program involve interagency deliberation and result from review 
of public and non-public sources, including licensing data, and the 
measurement of such information against the VEU authorization criteria. 
Given the nature of the review, and in light of the parallels between 
the VEU application review process and the review of license 
applications, public comment on this authorization and subsequent 
amendments prior to publication is unnecessary. Moreover, because, as 
noted above, the criteria and process for authorizing and administering 
VEUs were developed with public comments, allowing additional public 
comment on this amendment to individual VEU authorizations, which was 
determined according to those criteria, is unnecessary.
    Section 553(d) of the APA generally provides that rules may not 
take effect earlier than thirty (30) days after they are published in 
the Federal Register. However, BIS finds good cause to waive the 30-day 
delay in effectiveness for this rule pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) 
because the delay would be contrary to the public interest. BIS is 
simply amending the authorization of an existing VEU to update the 
address of the eligible destination (facility). BIS amends the EAR in 
this rule consistent with established objectives and parameters 
administered and enforced by the responsible designated departmental 
representatives to the End-User Review Committee. Delaying this 
action's effectiveness would likely cause confusion regarding which 
items are authorized by the U.S. Government to be shipped to which 
eligible destination (facility), which would stifle the purpose of the 
VEU Program. Accordingly, it is contrary to the public interest to 
delay this rule's effectiveness.
    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 under the APA or by any other law, the analytical 
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 
are not applicable. As a result, no final regulatory flexibility 
analysis is required and none has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 748

    Administrative practice and procedure, Exports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.


[[Page 61106]]


    Accordingly, part 748 of the EAR (15 CFR parts 730-774) is amended 
as follows:

PART 748--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 748 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 50 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.; 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; E.O. 
13026, 61 FR 58767, 3 CFR, 1996 Comp., p. 228; E.O. 13222, 66 FR 
44025, 3 CFR, 2001 Comp., p. 783; Notice of August 4, 2016, 81 FR 
52587 (August 8, 2016).


0
2. Amend supplement No. 7 to part 748 by revising the entry for 
``Boeing Tianjin Composites Co. Ltd.'' in ``China (People's Republic 
of)'' to read as follows:

  Supplement No. 7 to Part 748--Authorization Validated End-User (VEU): List of Validated End-Users, Respective
                   Items Eligible for Export, Reexport and Transfer, and Eligible Destinations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Validated  end-   Eligible items (by       Eligible
           Country                  user               ECCN)           destination    Federal Register  citation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Nothing in this Supplement shall be deemed to supersede other provisions in the EAR, including but not limited
                                              to Sec.   748.15(c).
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                                                  * * * * * * *
                              Boeing Tianjin   1B001.f, 1D001        Boeing Tianjin   72 FR 59164, 10/19/07.
                               Composites Co.   (limited to           Composites Co.  74 FR 19382, 4/29/09.
                               Ltd.             ``software''          Ltd., 4566      77 FR 10953, 2/24/12.
                                                specially designed    Hebei Road,     77 FR 40258, 7/9/12.
                                                or modified for the   Marine Hi-Tech  81 FR [INSERT PAGE
                                                ``use'' of            Development      NUMBER],
                                                equipment             Area, Tanggu    September 6, 2016.
                                                controlled by         District,
                                                1B001.f), 2B001.b.2   Tianjin, China
                                                (limited to machine   300451.
                                                tools with
                                                accuracies no
                                                better than (i.e.,
                                                not less than) 13
                                                microns), 2D001
                                                (limited to
                                                ``software,'' other
                                                than that
                                                controlled by
                                                2D002, specially
                                                designed or
                                                modified for the
                                                ``use'' of
                                                equipment
                                                controlled by
                                                2B001.b.2), and
                                                2D002 (limited to
                                                ``software'' for
                                                electronic devices,
                                                even when residing
                                                in an electronic
                                                device or system,
                                                enabling such
                                                devices or systems
                                                to function as a
                                                ``numerical
                                                control'' unit,
                                                capable of
                                                coordinating
                                                simultaneously more
                                                than 4 axes for
                                                ``contouring
                                                control''
                                                controlled by
                                                2B001.b.2).
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated: August 30, 2016.
Kevin J. Wolf,
Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-21333 Filed 9-2-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P