In Federal Register Notices published Monday, November 7, 2011, the Department of  Commerce (76 FR 68675) and Department of State (76 FR 68694) released their proposed rules on the transfer of certain aircraft and related items found in Category VIII of the United States Munitions List (USML) to the Commerce Control List (CCL).  The agencies are accepting comments on these proposed rules until December 22, 2011.

This is the second in a planned series of proposed rules describing how various types of articles the President determines, as part of the Administration's Export Control Reform Initiative, no longer warrant USML control but should instead be controlled on the CCL and by the EAR.

The proposed changes, described in the notice and the State Department’s proposed amendment to Category VIII of the USML, are based on a review of Category VIII by the Defense Department, which worked with the Departments of State and Commerce in preparing the proposed amendments.  The review was focused on identifying the types of articles that are now controlled by USML Category VIII that are either:

(i) Inherently military and otherwise warrant control on the USML or

(ii) if it is a type common to civil aircraft applications, possess parameters or characteristics that provide a critical military or intelligence advantage to the United States, and that are almost exclusively available from the United States.

If an article satisfied one or both of those criteria, the article remained on the USML.  If an article did not satisfy either standard but was nonetheless a type of article that is, as a result of differences in form and fit, ‘‘specially designed’’ for military applications, then it was identified in the new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) proposed in Commerce’s notice.

The aircraft and related items that are proposed for transfer to the CCL will be classified under new ECCNs 9A610, 9B610, 9C610, 9D610, and 9E610.  In addition, the proposed rule would move existing military aircraft and related items currently controlled under ECCNs 9A018, 9D018 and 9E018 to new ECCNs 9A610, 9D610 and 9E610.  This proposed rule would make 600 series items eligible for BIS License Exception STA for such uses and also when exported, reexported, or transferred for the production or development of an item for ultimate end use by a STA–36 country government agency, by the United States Government, or by a person in the United States.

For more information or questions about these or other Customs matters, contact George Tuttle, III  at george.tuttle.iii@tuttlelaw.com or by phone at (415) 986-8780.  

George Tuttle, III is an attorney with the Law Offices of George R. Tuttle in San Francisco.

The information in this article is general in nature, and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship with respect to any event or occurrence, and may not be considered as such.

Copyright © 2011 by Tuttle Law Offices. 

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