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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 40 (Monday, March 2, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11315-11316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-04293]

[[Page 11315]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security

 15 CFR Part 774

[Docket No. 150210135-5182-01]
RIN 0694-XC023

Notice of Inquiry: Request for Comments Regarding Controls on 
Military Aircraft and Military Gas Turbine Engines on the Commerce 
Control List

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of inquiry.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Department of 
Commerce maintains the Export Administration Regulations, including the 
Commerce Control List (CCL). The Export Control Reform Initiative, a 
fundamental reform of the U.S. export control system, has resulted in 
transfer to the CCL of items that the President has determined do not 
warrant control on the United States Munitions List (USML), including 
certain military aircraft, military gas turbine engines, and related 
items. The USML is part of the International Traffic in Arms 
Regulations maintained by the Department of State. Through this notice, 
BIS is seeking public comments to perform a complementary review of 
military aircraft, military gas turbine engines, and related items on 
the CCL concurrent with the Department of State's review of the 
controls implemented in its recent revisions to Categories VIII and XIX 
of the USML, which control military aircraft and military gas turbine 
engines, to ensure that they are clear, do not inadvertently control 
items in normal commercial use, account for technological developments, 
and properly implement the national security and foreign policy 
objectives of the reform effort. This notice also furthers the 
retrospective regulatory review directed by the President in Executive 
Order 13563.

DATES: Comments must be received by BIS no later than May 1, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to the Federal rulemaking portal 
(http://www.regulations.gov). You can find this notice by searching on 
its regulations.gov docket number, which is BIS-2015-0006. Comments may 
also be submitted via email to publiccommments@bis.doc.gov or on paper 
to Regulatory Policy Division, Bureau of Industry and Security, Room 
2099B, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230. Please refer 
to RIN 0694-XC023 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. 
Commerce's full plan for retrospective regulatory review can be 
accessed at: http://open.commerce.gov/news/2011/08/23/commerce-plan-retrospective-analysis-existing-rules.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Willis, Thomas DeFee or Jeffery 
Leitz in the Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security, 
Munitions Control Division at 202 482 4506 or by email at 
Todd.Willis@bis.doc.gov, Thomas.DeFee@bis.doc.gov, or 
Jeffrey.Leitz@bis.doc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Department of Commerce 
maintains the Export Administration Regulations, including the Commerce 
Control List (CCL). The Export Control Reform Initiative, a fundamental 
reform of the U.S. export control system, has resulted in transfer to 
the CCL of items that the President has determined do not warrant 
control on the United States Munitions List (USML), including certain 
military aircraft, military gas turbine engines, and related items. The 
USML is part of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations 
maintained by the Department of State. Through this notice, BIS is 
seeking comments to perform a complementary review of military 
aircraft, military gas turbine engines, and related items on the CCL 
concurrent with the Department of State's review of the controls 
implemented in its recent revisions to Categories VIII and XIX of the 
USML, which control military aircraft and military gas turbine engines, 
to ensure that they are clear, do not inadvertently control items in 
normal commercial use, account for technological developments, and 
properly implement the national security and foreign policy objectives 
of the reform effort.
    Specifically, BIS is soliciting comments on the clarity, usability 
and any other matters related to implementation of the 600 series 
Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) that control military 
aircraft and related items (ECCNs 9A610, 9B610, 9C610, 9D610 and 9E610) 
and military gas turbine engines and related items (9A619, 9B619, 
9C619, 9D619 and 9E619).

The Export Control Reform Initiative: USML Review and the CCL

    A core element of the Export Control Reform (ECR) Initiative has 
been the streamlining of categories on the USML and the control on the 
CCL of items that the President determines do not warrant USML control. 
On December 10, 2010, the Department of State provided notice to the 
public of its intent, pursuant to the ECR initiative, to revise the 
USML to create a more ``positive list'' that describes controlled items 
using, to the extent possible, objective criteria rather than broad, 
open-ended, subjective, or design intent-based criteria (see 75 FR 
76935). As a practical matter, this meant revising USML categories so 
that, with some exceptions, the descriptions of defense articles that 
continued to warrant control under the USML did not use catch-all 
phrases, such as ``specially designed'' or ``specifically designed or 
modified,'' to control unspecified items. With limited exceptions, the 
defense articles that warranted control under the USML were those that 
provided the United States with a critical military or intelligence 
advantage. All other items were to become subject to the jurisdiction 
of the Export Administration Regulations. Since that time, the 
Departments of State and Commerce have jointly published final rules 
setting forth revisions for fifteen USML categories, each of which has 
been reorganized into a uniform and more ``positive list'' structure, 
and corresponding revisions to the CCL.
    The advantage of revising the USML into a more positive list is 
that its controls can be tailored to satisfy the national security and 
foreign policy objectives of the ITAR by maintaining control over those 
defense articles that provide a critical military or intelligence 
advantage, or otherwise warrant control under the ITAR, without 
inadvertently controlling items in normal commercial use. This 
approach, however, requires that both the USML and the CCL be regularly 
revised and updated to account for technological developments, 
practical application issues identified by exporters and reexporters, 
and changes in the military and commercial applications of items 
affected by the USML and the 600 series ECCNs.
    The first rules implementing the ECR initiative became effective on 
October 15, 2013. They implemented revisions to Category VIII (aircraft 
and related items), and created Category XIX (gas turbine engines and 
related items) on the USML (see 78 FR 22740) as well as the 600 series 
ECCNs 9A610, 9B610, 9C610, 9D610 and 9E610 (aircraft and related items) 
and 9A619, 9B619, 9C619, 9D619 and 9E619 (gas turbine engines and 
related items) on the CCL (see 78 FR 22660). The Department of State is 
seeking comment from the public on the condition and efficacy of

[[Page 11316]]

the revised Categories VIII and XIX and whether they are meeting the 
ECR objectives for the list revisions. BIS will make any changes to the 
CCL that it determines are necessary to complement USML revisions. 
However, with this notice, BIS is also independently seeking comment on 
how to improve the implementation of 600 series ECCNs 9A610, 9B610, 
9C610, 9D610, 9E610, 9A619, 9B619, 9C619, 9D619 and 9E619.

Executive Order 13563

    On January 18, 2011, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 
13563, affirming general principles of regulation and directing 
government agencies to improve regulation and regulatory review. Among 
other things, the President stressed the need for the regulatory system 
to allow for public participation and an open exchange of ideas, as 
well as promote predictability and reduce uncertainty. The President 
also emphasized that regulations must be accessible, consistent, 
written in plain language, and easy to understand. As part of its 
ongoing effort to ensure that its regulations are clear, effective, and 
up-to-date, BIS is issuing this notice soliciting public comments.

    Dated: February 24, 2015.
Kevin J. Wolf,
Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-04293 Filed 2-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P
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