[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 167 (Wednesday, September 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49093-49094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18852]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Foreign Assets Control

[Docket Number OFAC-2021-0003]


Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Exportation of 
Agricultural Commodities, Medicine, and Medical Devices to Sudan and 
Iran; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets 
Control (OFAC) is soliciting comments on the effectiveness of OFAC's 
licensing procedures for the exportation of agricultural commodities, 
medicine, and medical devices to Sudan and Iran for the time period 
between October 1, 2016, to September 30, 2018. Pursuant to the Trade 
Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, OFAC is required 
to submit a biennial report to the Congress on the operation of 
licensing procedures for such exports.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before October 1, 
2021, to be assured of consideration for the report.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected] with Attn: Request for Comments 
(TSRA).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and refer to Docket number OFAC-2021-0003. All comments, including 
attachments and other supporting materials, will become part of the 
public record and subject to public disclosure. Sensitive personal 
information, such as account numbers or Social Security numbers, should 
not be included. Comments generally will not be edited to remove any 
identifying or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
about these licensing procedures should be directed to the Assistant 
Director for Licensing, 202-622-2480. Additional information about 
these licensing procedures is also available at www.treasury.gov/tsra.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The current procedures used by OFAC pursuant 
to the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (Title 
IX of Pub. L. 106-387, 22 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) (the ``Act'') for 
authorizing the export and reexport of agricultural commodities, 
medicine, and medical devices to Iran are set forth in 31 CFR 560.530, 
560.532, and 560.533. Between October 22, 2012, and December 23, 2016, 
OFAC issued a series of general licenses and published amendments to 
the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 560, to 
expand the scope of these authorizations and to issue new or expanded 
authorizations, including authorizations related to training, 
replacement parts, software, and services for the operation, 
maintenance, and repair of medical devices, and items that are broken 
or connected to product recalls or other safety concerns to Iran. See 
31 CFR 560.530(a)(2) through (6). Accordingly, specific licenses are no 
longer required for these exports and related activities.
    Effective October 12, 2017, sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order 
(E.O.) 13067 of November 3, 1997, ``Blocking Sudanese Government 
Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Sudan'' (62 FR 59989, 
November 5, 1997), and E.O. 13412 of October 13, 2006, ``Blocking 
Property of and Prohibiting Transactions With the Government of Sudan'' 
(71 FR 61369, October 17, 2006), were revoked, pursuant to E.O. 13761 
of January 13, 2017, ``Recognizing Positive Actions by the Government 
of Sudan and Providing for the Revocation of Certain Sudan-Related 
Sanctions'' (82 FR 5331, January 18, 2017), as amended by E.O. 13804 of 
July 11, 2017, ``Allowing Additional Time for Recognizing Positive 
Actions by the Government of Sudan and Amending Executive Order 13761'' 
(82 FR 32611, July 14, 2017). As a result of the revocation of these 
sanctions provisions, U.S. persons are no longer prohibited from 
engaging in transactions that were previously prohibited under these 
provisions, and the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 538, 
were revoked (83 FR 30539, June 29, 2018). However, pursuant to the 
Act, an OFAC license was required for exports and reexports to the 
Government of Sudan or any other entity in Sudan of agricultural 
commodities, medicine, and medical devices prior to the Secretary of 
State's December 14, 2020, recission of the designation of Sudan as a 
State Sponsor of Terrorism (85 FR 82565, December 18, 2020).
    Under the provisions of section 906(c) of the Act, OFAC must submit 
a biennial report to the Congress on the operation, during the 
preceding two-year period, of the licensing procedures required by 
section 906 of the Act for the export of agricultural commodities, 
medicine, and medical devices to Sudan and Iran. This report is to 
include:
    (1) The number and types of licenses applied for;

[[Page 49094]]

    (2) The number and types of licenses approved;
    (3) The average amount of time elapsed from the date of filing of a 
license application until the date of its approval;
    (4) The extent to which the licensing procedures were effectively 
implemented; and
    (5) A description of comments received from interested parties 
about the extent to which the licensing procedures were effective, 
after holding a public 30-day comment period.
    This document solicits comments from interested parties regarding 
the effectiveness of OFAC's licensing procedures for the export of 
agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Sudan and 
Iran for the time period between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 
2018. Interested parties submitting comments are asked to be as 
specific as possible. In the interest of accuracy and completeness, 
OFAC requires written comments. All comments received on or before 
October 1, 2021, will be considered by OFAC in developing the report to 
the Congress. Consideration of comments received after the end of the 
comment period cannot be assured.
    All comments made will be a matter of public record. OFAC therefore 
will neither accept nor consider comments accompanied by a request that 
part or all of the comments be treated confidentially because of their 
business proprietary nature or for any other reason. Copies of past 
biennial reports may be obtained from OFAC's website: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/tsra.pdf.

    Dated: August 27, 2021.
Bradley T. Smith,
Acting Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
[FR Doc. 2021-18852 Filed 8-31-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AL-P