The Bureau of Industry and Security's Materials Technical Advisory Committee will hold a partially open meeting on May 13, 2010 in Washington, DC. The agenda for the open session includes presentation on composite for biological agents and processing equipment, and reports on ECCNs and recent CCL changes. (FR Pub 04/29/10, available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-10027.pdf)

The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective April 20, 2010, which, among other things, amends certain Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) under the Export Administration Regulations to reflect recent changes to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Annex, and to correct a previous final rule.

The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective March 25, 2010, which adds three new Export Control Classification Numbers to the Commerce Control List covering certain concealed object detection equipment, and adds a presumption of approval license review policy for these new ECCNs to certain countries.

According to Consumer Reports, Washington state has joined Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota and Wisconsin in banning Bisphenol A in certain products. Under Washington's law, plastic containers made with BPA that are designed to hold food or beverages for children under three may not be manufactured, sold, or distributed in the state, effective July 1, 2011. Effective July 1, 2012, the ban will extend to plastic sports bottles. (Notice, posted 03/22/10, available at http://blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/2010/03/washington-bans-bpa-bisphenol-a.html)

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a final rule, effective March 8, 2010, amending the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations and the Iranian Transactions Regulations to provide a general license authorizing the exportation of certain services and software incident to the exchange of personal communications over the Internet.

The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective February 22, 2010, which revises the controls on certain agents identified in Export Control Classification Number 1C360 to reflect changes to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs list; and removes certain anti-terrorism (AT) license requirements under ECCN 1E998.

In January 2010, the Bureau of Industry and Security updated its Freight Forwarder Guidance, which included updated information on the responsibilities of the forwarding community, routed and non-routed export transactions, the Automated Export System; and risk mitigation and public/private partnerships.

The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective February 9, 2010, which revises License Exception GOV¹ under the Export Administration Regulations to provide a new authorization for exports and reexports of certain commodities when they are intended for use on the International Space Station (ISS).

The Court of International Tradehasruled against further proceedingson an Appeal Court'sruling that invalidateda CIT decision thatUPS Customhouse Brokerage violated 19 USC 1641 by not exercising responsible supervision and control.The CAFC had ruled thatCustoms was required toconsider all 10 factors listed in 19 CFR 111.1 as a prerequisite. The CIT also ruled that a discretionary remand to Customs would be inappropriate. (U.S. v. UPS Customshouse Brokerage, Inc., Slip Op. 10-11, dated 01/28/10, available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op10/Slip%20Op%2010-11.pdf)

The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective January 15, 2010, which amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add an entity and identify its respective eligible items for export and reexport and transfer (in-country) under Authorization Validated End-User (VEU) in China.