Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 230 / Thursday, December 1, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 72073 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Industry and Security 

15 CFR Part 748 

[Docket No. 050812221–5221–01] 

RIN 0694–AD50 

Revisions to the Import Certificate 

Requirements in the Export 

Administration Regulations 

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and 

Security, Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and 

Security is removing the requirement to 

obtain an Import Certificate in support 

of an export or reexport license when 

the ultimate consignee or purchaser is a 

foreign government or agency of 

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, 

Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and India. 

The requirement is being removed for 

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, 

Poland, Romania, and Slovakia because 

of their membership in the North 

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 

and their commitment to export 

controls, as is reflected by their 

membership in multiple export control 

regimes, such as the Wassenaar 

Arrangement, the Australia Group, the 

Missile Technology Control Regime, and 

Nuclear Suppliers Group. This 

requirement is being removed for India 

because of the actions it has taken under 

the U.S.-India Next Steps in Strategic 

Partnership. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 1, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: Although this is a final rule, 

comments are welcome and should be 

addressed to Timothy Mooney, Office of 

Exporter Services, Bureau of Industry 

and Security, Department of Commerce, 

P.O. Box 273, Washington, DC 20044, Emailed to: tmooney@bis.doc.gov, or 

faxed to 202–482–3355. 

Comments regarding the collections of 

information associated with this rule, 

including suggestions for reducing the 

burden, should be sent to OMB Desk 

Officer, New Executive Office Building, 

Washington, DC 20503—Attention: 

David Rostker; and to the Office of 

Administration, Bureau of Industry and 

Security, Department of Commerce, 

14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Room 6883, Washington, DC 20230. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Eileen Albanese, Director, Office of 

Exporter Services, Bureau of Industry 

and Security, Telephone: (202) 482–

0436. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The import certificate requirement 

has its foundation in the Coordinating 

Committee on Multilateral Export 

Controls (COCOM). COCOM is a former 

multilateral organization that 

cooperated in restricting strategic 

exports (conventional weapons and dual 

use items that are controlled for national 

security reasons on the Commerce 

Control List) to Eastern Bloc 

(communist-governed countries) during 

the Cold War era. Although COCOM 

was officially disbanded on March 31, 

1994, the import certificate remains in 

use by the United States and many other 

countries. 

U.S. exporters are required by 

§§ 748.9 and 748.10 of the Export 

Administration Regulations (EAR) to 

obtain and retain Import Certificates for 

the export of items controlled for 

national security (NS) reasons on the 

Commerce Control List, when a license 

is required. This import certificate 

requirement applies to licensed exports 

to 29 Wassenaar Arrangement members 

and 7 additional countries (India, China, 

Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Pakistan, 

Singapore and Taiwan). An Import 

Certificate is a certification by the 

issuing government that the importer 

has undertaken to import the items 

stated on the import certificate, that the 

items will not be diverted or reexported 

without notification or authorization of 

the importing government, and, 

depending on the country, the importer 

will notify or seek authorization from 

the importing government if any of the 

facts of the import certificate change. 

For some countries, the importer also 

certifies that he or she will provide, if 

asked, verification that possession of the 

item was taken. In general, there is an 

exemption from obtaining an Import 

Certificate when the ultimate consignee 

or purchaser is a government agency. 

However, prior to publication of this 

rule, certain countries were excluded 

from this exemption (see § 748.9(a)(2)). 

This rule eliminates the requirement 

for Import Certificates set forth in 

section 748.9(a)(2) when the ultimate 

consignee or purchaser is a government 

entity in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, 

Hungary, Poland, Romania, and 

Slovakia. These countries are members 

of North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

(NATO), and have taken steps to 

implement effective national security 

export control regimes, as demonstrated 

by their membership in the Wassenaar 

Arrangement. 

In addition, in 2004, the United States 

committed to reviewing the Import 

Certificate requirement for India, as a 

part of the U.S.-India High Technology 

Group (HTCG) discussions. The HTCG 

was formed in 2002 to identify barriers 

to legitimate high technology trade. In 

the course of these discussions, the 

Import Certificate requirement was 

identified as a non-tariff barrier to 

expanded trade. In light of the actions 

taken by the Government of India with 

regard to controlled goods or 

technologies it imports from the United 

States pursuant to the U.S.-India Next 

Steps in Strategic Partnership, this rule 

removes the Import Certificate 

requirement for exports to Indian 

Government entities under section 

748.9(a)(2). 

Although the Export Administration 

Act expired on August 20, 2001, the 

President, through Executive Order 

13222 of August 17, 2001, 3 CFR, 2001 

Comp., p. 783 (2002), as extended by the 

Notice of August 2, 2005, 70 FR 45273 

(August 5, 2005), has continued the 

Export Administration Regulations in 

effect under the International 

Emergency Economic Powers Act. 

Rulemaking Requirements 

1. This final rule has been determined 

to be not significant for purposes of E.O. 

12866. 

2. Notwithstanding any other 

provision of law, no person is required 

to respond to, nor shall any person 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 rule 

involves a collection of information 

subject to the PRA. This collection has 

been approved by OMB under control 

number 0694–0093, Import Certificates, 

End-User Certificates, and Delivery 

Verification Procedures,’’ which carries 

a burden hour estimate of 15 to 30 

minutes per response. This rule is 

anticipated to have a slight decrease on 

the number of licenses that require 

Import Certificates and not to alter the 

range of total burden hours associated 

with this control number. Send 

comments regarding these burden 

estimates or any other aspect of these 

collections of information, including 

suggestions for reducing the burden, to 

OMB Desk Officer, New Executive 

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503; 

and to the Office of Administration, 

Bureau of Industry and Security, 

Department of Commerce, 14th and 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 6883, 

Washington, DC 20230. 

3. This rule does not contain policies 

with Federalism implications as that 

term is defined under E.O. 13132. 

72074 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 230 / Thursday, December 1, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

4. The provisions of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553) requiring notice of proposed 

rulemaking, the opportunity for public 

participation, and a delay in effective 

date, are inapplicable because this 

regulation involves a military and 

foreign affairs function of the United 

States (5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1)). Further, no 

other law requires that a notice of 

proposed rulemaking and an 

opportunity for public comment be 

given for this final rule. Because a 

notice of proposed rulemaking and an 

opportunity for public comment are not 

required to be given for this rule under 

the Administrative Procedure Act or by 

any other law, the analytical 

requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are 

not applicable. Therefore, this 

regulation is issued in final form. 

Although there is no formal comment 

period, public comments on this 

regulation are welcome on a continuing 

basis. Comments should be submitted to 

Timothy Mooney, Office of Exporter 

Services, Bureau of Industry and 

Security, Department of Commerce, P.O. 

Box 273, Washington, DC 20044. 

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 748 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Exports, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

■ Accordingly, part 748 of the Export 

Administration Regulations (15 CFR 

parts 730–799) are amended as follows: 

PART 748—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for 15 CFR 

part 748 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 50 U.S.C. app. 2401 et seq.; 50 

U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; E.O. 13026, 61 FR 58767, 

3 CFR, 1996 Comp., p. 228; E.O. 13222, 66 

FR 44025, 3 CFR, 2001 Comp., p. 783; Notice 

of August 2, 2005, 70 FR 45273 (August 5, 

2005). 

■ 2. Section 748.9 is amended by 

revising paragraph (a)(2) to read as 

follows: 

§ 748.9 Support Documents for License 

Applications. 

(a) * * * 

(2) The ultimate consignee or 

purchaser is a foreign government(s) or 

foreign government agency(ies), other 

than the government of the People’s 

Republic of China. To determine 

whether the parties to your transaction 

meet the definition of ‘‘government 

agency’’ refer to the definition contained 

in part 772 of the EAR. Remember, if 

either the ultimate consignee or 

purchaser is not a foreign government or 

foreign government agency, a statement 

is required from the nongovernmental 

party. 

* * * * * 

Dated: November 28, 2005. 

Matthew S. Borman, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 05–23533 Filed 11–30–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

21 CFR Chapter I 

Change of Address; Technical 

Amendment 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Final rule; technical 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) is amending its 

regulations to reflect a change in the 

address for the American Society for 

Testing Materials (ASTM). This action is 

editorial in nature and is intended to 

improve the accuracy of the agency’s 

regulations. 

DATES: This rule is effective December 1, 

2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joyce Strong, Office of Policy and 

Planning (HF–27), Food and Drug 

Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, 

Rockville, MD 20857, 301–827–7010. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document amends FDA’s regulations to 

reflect the address change of ASTM by 

removing the outdated address 

wherever it appears and by adding the 

new address in its place in 21 CFR parts 

172, 175, 176, 177, 178, and 179. 

Publication of this document 

constitutes final action on these changes 

under the Administrative Procedure Act 

(5 U.S.C. 553). Notice and public 

procedure are unnecessary because FDA 

is merely correcting nonsubstantive 

errors. 

■ Therefore, under the Federal Food, 

Drug, and Cosmetic Act and under 

authority delegated to the Commissioner 

of Food and Drugs, 21 CFR chapter I is 

amended as follows: 

Chapter I [Nomenclature changes] 

■ 1. Parts 172, 175, 176, 177, 178, and 

179 are amended by removing ‘‘1916 

Race St., Philadelphia, PA 19103’’ or 

‘‘1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 

19103’’ and adding in its place ‘‘100 

Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, 

Philadelphia, PA 19428–2959’’

wherever it appears. 

Dated: November 23, 2005. 

Jeffrey Shuren, 

Assistant Commissioner for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 05–23521 Filed 11–30–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–01–S 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Parts 4011 and 4022 

Disclosure to Participants; Benefits 

Payable in Terminated SingleEmployer Plans 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule amends Appendix D 

to the Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation’s regulation on Benefits 

Payable in Terminated Single-Employer 

Plans by adding the maximum 

guaranteeable pension benefit that may 

be paid by the PBGC with respect to a 

plan participant in a single-employer 

pension plan that terminates in 2006. 

This rule also amends the PBGC’s 

regulation on Disclosure to Participants 

by adding information on 2006 

maximum guaranteed benefit amounts 

to Appendix B. The amendment is 

necessary because the maximum 

guarantee amount changes each year, 

based on changes in the contribution 

and benefit base under section 230 of 

the Social Security Act. The effect of the 

amendment is to advise plan 

participants and beneficiaries of the 

increased maximum guarantee amount 

for 2006. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Catherine B. Klion, Attorney, Legislative 

and Regulatory Department, Pension 

Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005–

4026; 202–326–4024. (TTY/TDD users 

may call the Federal relay service tollfree at 1–800–877–8339 and ask to be 

connected to 202–326–4024.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

4022(b) of the Employee Retirement 

Income Security Act of 1974 provides 

for certain limitations on benefits 

guaranteed by the PBGC in terminating 

single-employer pension plans covered 

under Title IV of ERISA. One of the 

limitations, set forth in section 

4022(b)(3)(B), is a dollar ceiling on the 

amount of the monthly benefit that may 

be paid to a plan participant (in the 

form of a life annuity beginning at age