[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 43 (Monday, March 8, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13179-13181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04794]



[[Page 13179]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security

15 CFR Part 744

[Docket No. 210303-0036]
RIN 0694-AI42


Addition of Entities to the Entity List

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) 
amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to further implement 
U.S. sanctions on selected Burmese government ministries and related 
enterprises. Specifically, BIS amends the EAR by adding four entities 
to the Entity List under the destination of Burma. These four entities 
have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to 
the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. 
The actions in this rule support the United States Government's efforts 
to promote a return to democracy in Burma following the February 1, 
2021 Burmese military coup. They also reflect the United States 
Government's goal of supporting the people of Burma by preventing 
Burma' military and security services from obtaining items subject to 
the EAR.

DATES: This rule is effective March 8, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chair, End-User Review Committee, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary, Export Administration, Bureau of 
Industry and Security, Department of Commerce, Phone: (202) 482-5991, 
Fax: (202) 482-3911, Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Entity List

    The Entity List (15 CFR, subchapter C, part 744, Supplement No. 4) 
identifies entities reasonably believed to be involved in, or to pose a 
significant risk of being or becoming involved in, activities contrary 
to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United 
States. The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR parts 730-
774) impose additional license requirements on, and limit the 
availability of most license exceptions for exports, reexports, and 
transfers (in-country) to listed entities. The license review policy 
for each listed entity is identified in the ``License review policy'' 
column on the Entity List, and the impact on the availability of 
license exceptions is described in the relevant Federal Register 
document adding entities to the Entity List. BIS places entities on the 
Entity List pursuant to part 744 (Control Policy: End-User and End-Use 
Based) and part 746 (Embargoes and Other Special Controls) of the EAR.
    The End-User Review Committee (ERC), composed of representatives of 
the Departments of Commerce (Chair), State, Defense, Energy and, where 
appropriate, the Treasury, makes all decisions regarding additions to, 
removals from, or other modifications to the Entity List. The ERC makes 
all decisions to add an entry to the Entity List by majority vote and 
all decisions to remove or modify an entry by unanimous vote. The 
Departments represented on the ERC have approved these changes to the 
Entity List.
Additions to the Entity List Made in Response to the February 1, 2021 
Military Coup in Burma
    BIS is making additions to the Entity List as part of a broader 
U.S. Government response to the February 1, 2021 coup by the military 
in Burma, which overthrew Burma's democratically-elected government, 
and the military's subsequent arrest and detention of government 
leaders, human rights defenders, and journalists. On February 10, 2021, 
President Biden signed Executive Order (E.O.) 14014, ``Blocking 
Property With Respect to the Situation in Burma'' (E.O. 14104) in which 
he declared a national emergency to address the threat posed to the 
United States by the situation in, and in relation to, Burma following 
the coup. See 86 FR 9429 (Feb. 12, 2021).
    Since February 10, 2021, BIS has taken action under the EAR to 
strengthen export controls on Burma and address the foreign policy and 
national security concerns that formed the basis for the issuance of 
E.O. 14104. On February 18, 2021, BIS published a rule in the Federal 
Register adopting a more restrictive review policy of a presumption of 
denial for license applications involving items subject to the EAR that 
require a license for export and reexport and that are destined for 
Burma's Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, armed forces, or 
security services. The February 18, 2021 rule also suspended the 
availability in part or in full of four license exceptions in part 740 
of the EAR for items destined for Burma. See 86 FR 10011 (Feb. 18, 
2021). As part of an additional final rule, BIS imposed additional 
restrictions on Burma, including by removing the country from Country 
Group B, and placing it in the more restrictive Country Group D:1, and 
by adding it to the list of countries subject to defined `military end 
use' and `military end user' restrictions. See supp. no. 1 to part 740 
and Sec. Sec.  742.4 and 744.21 of the EAR.
    In this rule, BIS is taking additional steps in response to the 
situation in Burma. BIS is adding four entities, including specifically 
identified aliases, to the Entity List under the destination of Burma: 
The Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Myanmar Economic 
Corporation, and Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited. The actions in this 
rule support the United States Government's efforts to promote a return 
to democracy in Burma. In particular, this rule enhances the U.S. 
Government's efforts to ensure that items subject to the EAR are not 
available to Burma's Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home 
Affairs, the entities responsible for the coup, or the two commercial 
entities owned and operated by the Ministry of Defence, Myanmar 
Economic Corporation and Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited, which 
provide revenue for the Ministry of Defence.
    The departments represented on the ERC reviewed and applied Sec.  
744.11(b) (Criteria for revising the Entity List) in making the 
determination to add these four entities to the Entity List. Under 
paragraph (b), persons for whom there is reasonable cause to believe, 
based on specific and articulable facts, that they have been involved, 
are involved, or pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved 
in activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign 
policy interests of the United States, along with those acting on 
behalf of such persons, may be added to the Entity List. Paragraphs 
(b)(1) through (5) of Sec.  744.11 provide an illustrative list of 
activities that could be contrary to the national security or foreign 
policy interests of the United States. For each of the four entities 
identified below, the ERC made the requisite determination based on the 
standard set forth in Sec.  744.11(b). The four entities added to the 
Entity List in this rule are involved in activities that are contrary 
to the national security and foreign policy of the United States by 
being involved in, or supporting, the military coup in Burma.
    For the four entities added to the Entity List in this final rule, 
BIS imposes a license requirement for all items subject to the EAR and 
a license review policy of presumption of denial. In addition, no 
license exceptions are available for exports, reexports, or transfers 
(in-country) to the persons being added to the Entity List in this 
rule. The acronym ``a.k.a.'' (also known

[[Page 13180]]

as) is used in entries on the Entity List to identify aliases, thereby 
assisting exporters, reexporters, and transferors in identifying 
entities on the Entity List.
    For the reasons described above, this final rule adds the following 
four entities to the Entity List.

Burma

     Ministry of Defence;
     Ministry of Home Affairs;
     Myanmar Economic Corporation; and
     Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited.

Savings Clause

    Shipments of items removed from eligibility for a License Exception 
or export or reexport without a license (NLR) as a result of this 
regulatory action that were en route aboard a carrier to a port of 
export or reexport, on March 8, 2021, pursuant to actual orders for 
export or reexport to a foreign destination, may proceed to that 
destination under the previous eligibility for a License Exception or 
export or reexport without a license (NLR).

Export Control Reform Act of 2018

    On August 13, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the 
John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, 
which included the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA) (50 U.S.C. 
4801-4852) that provides the legal basis for BIS's principal 
authorities and serves as the authority under which BIS issues this 
rule.

Rulemaking Requirements

    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, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting 
flexibility. This rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to or 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 regulation involves 
collections previously approved by OMB under control number 0694-0088, 
Simplified Network Application Processing System, which includes, among 
other things, license applications, and carries a burden estimate of 
42.5 minutes for a manual or electronic submission. Total burden hours 
associated with the PRA and OMB control number 0694-0088 are not 
expected to increase as a result of this rule.
    This rule does not contain policies with Federalism implications as 
that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.
    Pursuant to section 1762 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, 
this action is exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 
553) requirements for notice of proposed rulemaking, opportunity for 
public participation, and delay in effective date.
    Because a notice of proposed rulemaking and an opportunity for 
public comment are not required to be given for this rule by 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. 
Accordingly, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required and none 
has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 744

    Exports, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Terrorism.

    Accordingly, part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations (15 
CFR parts 730-774) is amended as follows:

PART 744--[AMENDED]

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

    Authority:  50 U.S.C. 4801-4852; 50 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.; 50 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 2139a; 22 
U.S.C. 7201 et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 7210; 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. 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 September 18, 2020, 85 FR 59641 (September 22, 2020); Notice of 
November 12, 2020, 85 FR 72897 (November 13, 2020).


0
2. Supplement No. 4 to part 744 is amended under Burma by adding in 
alphabetical order entries for ``Ministry of Defence,'' ``Ministry of 
Home Affairs,'' ``Myanmar Economic Corporation,'' and ``Myanmar 
Economic Holdings Limited'' to read as follows:

Supplement No. 4 to Part 744--Entity List

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                                                             License         License  review    Federal Register
        Country                     Entity                 requirement            policy            Citation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
BURMA..................
 
                                                   * * * * * *
                         Ministry of Defence, a.k.a.,  For all items        Presumption of     86 FR [INSERT FR
                          the following two aliases:    subject to the       denial..           PAGE NUMBER], 3/
                         --Ministry of Defense; and     EAR. (See Sec.                          8/2021.
                         --MoD.                         744.11 of the
                         Building 24, Nay Pyi Taw,      EAR).
                          Burma.
                         Ministry of Home Affairs,     For all items        Presumption of     86 FR [INSERT FR
                          a.k.a., the following one     subject to the       denial.            PAGE NUMBER], 3/
                          alias:                        EAR. (See Sec.                          8/2021.
                         --MOHA.                        744.11 of the
                         Building 10, Nay Pyi Taw,      EAR).
                          Burma.

[[Page 13181]]

 
                         Myanmar Economic              For all items        Presumption of     86 FR [INSERT FR
                          Corporation, a.k.a., the      subject to the       denial.            PAGE NUMBER], 3/
                          following one alias:          EAR. (See Sec.                          8/2021.
                         --MEC.                         744.11 of the
                         Corner of Ahlone Road and      EAR).
                          Strand Road, Ahlone
                          Township, Yangon, Myanmar.
                         Myanmar Economic Holdings     For all items        Presumption of     86 FR [INSERT FR
                          Limited, a.k.a., the          subject to the       denial.            PAGE NUMBER], 3/
                          following eight aliases:      EAR. (See Sec.                          8/2021.
                         --MEHL;                        744.11 of the
                         --Myanma Economic Holdings     EAR).
                          Limited;
                         --Myanma Economic Holdings
                          Public Company Limited;
                         --Myanmar Business Holdings
                          Public Company Limited;
                         --Myanmar Economic Holdings
                          Public Company Limited;
                         --UMEH;
                         --Union of Myanmar Economic
                          Holdings Company Limited;
                          and
                         --Union of Myanmar Economic
                          Holdings Limited.
                         189-191 Maha Bandoola Road,
                          Botahtaung Township,
                          Yangon, Burma.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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Matthew S. Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-04794 Filed 3-4-21; 4:15 pm]
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