2018-20123. Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba

AGENCY:

Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce.

ACTION:

Request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is requesting public comments on the effectiveness of its licensing procedures as defined in the Export Administration Regulations for the export of agricultural commodities to Cuba. BIS will include a description of these comments in its biennial report to the Congress, as required by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, as amended (TSRA).

DATES:

Comments must be received by October 17, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Comments on this notice may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov) by using the notice regulations.gov docket number, which is BIS-2018-0019.

Comments may also be submitted via email to [e-mail] or on paper to Regulatory Policy Division, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 2099B, Washington, DC 20230.

Please refer to “RIN 0694-XC046/TSRA 2018 Report” in all comments and in the subject line of email comments. All comments (including any personally identifying information) will be made available for public inspection and copying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark Salinas, Office of Nonproliferation and Treaty Compliance, Telephone: [phone]. Additional information on BIS procedures and previous biennial reports under TSRA is available at http://www.bis.doc.gov/​index.php/​policy-guidance/​country-guidance/​sanctioned-destinations/​13-policy-guidance/​country-guidance/​426-reports-to-congress. Copies of these materials may also be requested by contacting the Office of Nonproliferation and Treaty Compliance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Pursuant to section 906(a) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (TSRA) (22 U.S.C. 7205(a)), the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) authorizes exports of agricultural commodities, as defined in part 772 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), to Cuba. Requirements and procedures associated with such authorization are set forth in § 740.18 of the EAR (15 CFR 740.18). These are the only licensing procedures in the EAR currently in effect pursuant to the requirements of section 906(a) of TSRA.

Under the provisions of section 906(c) of TSRA (22 U.S.C. 7205(c)), BIS must submit a biennial report to the Congress on the operation of the licensing system implemented pursuant to section 906(a) for the preceding two-year period. This report must include the number and types of licenses applied for, the number and types of licenses approved, the average amount of time elapsed from the date of filing of a license application until the date of its approval, the extent to which the licensing procedures were effectively implemented, and a description of comments received from interested parties during a 30-day public comment period about the effectiveness of the licensing procedures. BIS is currently preparing a biennial report on the operation of the licensing system for the two-year period from October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2018.

Request for Comments

By this notice, BIS requests public comments on the effectiveness of the licensing procedures for the export of agricultural commodities to Cuba set forth under § 740.18 of the EAR. Parties submitting comments are asked to be as specific as possible. All comments received by the close of the comment period will be considered by BIS in developing the report to Congress.

All comments must be in writing and will be available for public inspection and copying. Any information that the commenter does not wish to be made available to the public should not be submitted to BIS.

Dated: September 11, 2018.

Richard E. Ashooh,

Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.