By: Danielle McClellan
BIS has issued a final ruling amending the EAR to implement the 2008 Australia Group (AG) decisions. Effective July 6, 2009, ECCN 2B350 in the EAR will now control valves that have contact surfaces lined with certain ceramic materials and software related to toxic gas monitoring systems. This EAR changes brings the US rules into conformation with the AG “Control List of Dual-Use Chemical Manufacturing Facilities and Equipment and Related Technology and Software.” The rule also revises controls on cross (tangential) flow filtration equipment. The EAR controls such equipment that uses disposable or single-use filtration components.
The Commerce Department also revised the “Guidelines for Transfers of Sensitive Chemical or Biological Items” to include references to several definitions that were recently added to the AG “Guidelines.”
Lastly the rule will add the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Iraq, and Lebanon, to the Chemical Weapons license requirements and policies in the EAR. FYI…the EAR controls still apply to Iraq so items that are currently controlled for Chemical Weapons reasons will still require a license for export or reexport to Iraq, or transfer within Iraq.
More information: Federal Register Notice