Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba

Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2014)

Federal Register Volume 79, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2014)

Proposed Rules

Page 52591

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov

FR Doc No: 2014-21081

=======================================================================

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security

15 CFR Chapter VII

Docket No. 140814670-4670-01

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 Congress, as required by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, as amended.

DATES: Comments must be received by October 6, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking portal (www.regulations.gov). The regulations.gov ID for this notice is: BIS-

2014-0034. Comments may also be sent by email to publiccomments@bis.doc.gov with a reference to ``TSRA 2014 Report'' in the subject line. Paper comments may be submitted by mail to Regulatory Policy Division, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 2099B, Washington, DC 20230 with a reference to ``TSRA 2014 Report.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tracy L. Patts, Office of Nonproliferation and Treaty Compliance, Telephone: (202) 482-4252. Additional information on agricultural commodity export policy towards Cuba is available at http://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/country-guidance/13-policy-guidance/country-guidance/187-cuba.

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 Sec. 772.1 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR 772.1), to Cuba. Requirements and procedures associated with such authorization are set forth in Sec. 740.18 of the EAR. 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 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, 2012, through September 30, 2014.

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 Sec. 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: August 29, 2014.

Kevin J. Wolf,

Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.

FR Doc. 2014-21081 Filed 9-3-14; 8:45 am

BILLING CODE 3510-33-P