International Trade Law News

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published guidance on the implementation and enforcement of the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 (Public Law 108-61; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note). The Burmese JADE Act prohibits the importation into the U.S. of jewelry from third countries containing Burmese jadeite or rubies.

In order to implement the JADE Act, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTSUS) has been revised to add a new U.S. Note to Chapter 71 that provides:

With respect to goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after September 27, 2008, should an importer choose to enter any good under heading 7103, 7113 or 7116, the presentation of such entry shall be deemed to be a certification by the importer that any jadeite or rubies contained in such good were not mined in or extracted from Burma.

CBP has stated that the filing entries in headings 7103, 7113 and 7116 will be accepted as the U.S. importer's certification and no further written certification will be required.

However, CBP will require the exporter of such items to provide a written declaration stating that the jadeite or ruby gemstones were not mine in or extracted from Burma. The exporter certification must be included with a CBP paper entry filed by the importer's customs broker to ensure that all shipments that are not certified will be stopped. Acceptable language for the exporter's certification includes:

I (exporter or company name) certify to the best of my knowledge and belief, that the jadeite or ruby gemstones that are the subject of this exportation, whether they are exported as loose stones or incorporated in articles of jewelry, are subject to a system of verifiable controls from mine to place of exportation or final finishing which demonstrates that such gemstones were not mined in or extracted from Burma.

I further certify that I maintain records for all transactions involving the importation and exportation of rubies and jadeite from countries other than Burma and that such records will be available to the relevant government authorities upon request.

CBP will give importers and exporters a grace period until October 26, 2008 to comply with the certification and other provisions of Burmese Jade Act. After the grace period expires, CBP will begin enforced compliance.

Labels: Burma/Myanmar

Today President Bush signed two pieces of legislation aimed at Burma that were recently passed by Congress. First, the President signed H.J.Res. 93, which renewed import restrictions on Burma that were contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.

Second, the President signed H.R. 3890, the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008, a bill aimed at extending sanctions against leaders of the Burmese military regime and the Burmese gem industry, a large source of revenue for the Burmese government. The legislation is intended to prohibits the importation of jewelry from third countries containing Burmese jadeite and rubies and jewelry containing those gemstones. The bill was supported by the Jewelers of America, which has urged its members to seek, on all future orders placed, written assurances from their suppliers that they would not knowingly supply any gems mined in Burma, until the country starts the process of democratic reform.

Shortly thereafter, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that the agency has added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) ten companies owned or controlled by the Government of Burma or its officials, including companies involved in the gem-mining industry.

Today's action by OFAC targeted two conglomerates, the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEH) and the Myanmar Economic Corporation, both of which have extensive interests in a variety of sectors critical to the Government of Burma, including the gem, banking, and construction industries. Four of UMEH's subsidiary companies--Myanmar Ruby Enterprise, Myanmar Imperial Jade Company Ltd., Myawaddy Trading Ltd., and Myawaddy Bank Ltd.--were also added to the SDN List.

Also designated by OFAC were the "No. 1 Mining Enterprise," "No. 2 Mining Enterprise," and "No. 3 Mining Enterprise," all of which are owned by the Burmese Ministry of Mines. The Cooperative Import Export Enterprise, a trading company under the Burmese Ministry of Cooperatives, was also added to the SDN List.

As a result of today's designations by OFAC, all assets of the designated persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction must be blocked and no U.S. person may engage in any financial transactions with the designated persons.

Labels: Burma/Myanmar, OFAC

On Friday, OFAC issued an Amended Version of General License Number 14 issued under the Burmese Sanctions Regulations . This amended general license permits U.S. persons to make donations in support of not-for-profit humanitarian or religious activities in Burma (Myanmar), subject to certain conditions. The previously issued General License 14 authorized the transfer of funds in support of not-for-profit humanitarian or religious activities in Burma only if they involved U.S. or third-country NGOs. This amended general license expands the authorization for a period of 120 days to allow funding to any organization or individual engaged in not-for-profit humanitarian or religious activities in Burma, subject to certain conditions. Upon the expiration of Amended General License 14, the terms of the original General License 14 will remain in effect.

On a related note, OFAC also issued a new general license, General License Number 15, that allows U.S. financial institutions to process transfers of funds in unlimited amounts for noncommercial, personal remittances to or from Burma, or for or on behalf of an individual ordinarily resident in Burma, subject to certain conditions. Prior to the issuance of this general license, noncommercial, personal remittances to Burma were permitted only insofar as total remittances did not exceed $300 per Burmese household in any consecutive three-month period. This new general license includes no such limitation.

Labels: Burma/Myanmar

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about OFAC's issuance of a general license to assist relief efforts in Myanmar (Burma), the Treasury Department today issued a press release stating:

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in consultation with the Department of State, issued a general license to help facilitate the flow of funds for humanitarian assistance to the Burmese people in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

"The American people continue to demonstrate their concern for the people of Burma, particularly as they reel from the devastation of Cyclone Nargis," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. "This license will help to clear the way for additional humanitarian aid to make it to the Burmese people swiftly and efficiently."

This general license is particularly needed in the wake of Cyclone Nargis and the resulting devastation. The issuance of this general license will ease the work of U.S. and third-country nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), as most will no longer need to apply to OFAC for specific licenses or registration numbers in order to transfer funds to Burma to support their humanitarian activities. The general license authorizes the export and reexport of financial services, including the flow of humanitarian funds, to Burma in support of the not-for-profit humanitarian or religious activities in Burma of U.S. or third-country NGOs.

Prior to the issuance of the general license, sending funds to Burma, which is generally prohibited under the Burma sanctions program, would have required the issuance of a specific license by OFAC. NGOs may continue to rely upon outstanding specific licenses and may apply for specific licenses to engage in funds transfers in support of humanitarian activities beyond the scope of the general license.

Existing general licenses already authorize the exportation or reexportation of financial services ordinarily incident to the exportation of goods, technology, or services, other than financial services, to Burma. This action will allow U.S. individuals and entities to send, and U.S. financial institutions to transfer, funds to Burma to be used to support the humanitarian activities of U.S. or third-country NGOs in Burma. Third-country individuals and entities also will be able to transfer dollar-denominated funds through the United States to be used to provide humanitarian assistance by NGOs in Burma. This general license does not authorize the provision of financial services directly or indirectly to the Government of Burma or to persons blocked under the Burma sanctions and such services remain prohibited.

All transfers authorized by this general license may be made utilizing the services of blocked financial institutions in Burma, provided the transfers are made through third-country banks (no debits or credits may be made to any blocked account on the books of a U.S. financial institution).

Please visit the following link to access the general license:
www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/burma/gls/burmagl14.pdf

Editors Note: For those interested in contributing funds to the disaster relief efforts in Myanmar, a list of NGOs can be found at www.interaction.org/burma.

Labels: Burma/Myanmar

In order to support the humanitarian relief efforts in Burma (Myanmar) as a result of the devastation left by Cyclone Nargis, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued General License Number 14 under the Burmese Sanctions Regulations.

General License No. 14 authorizes the exportation or reexportation of financial services to Burma in support of not-for-profit humanitarian or religious activities in Burma of U.S. or third-country nongovernmental organizations.

However, the General License does not permit financial services to be provided directly or indirectly to the Government of Burma, to persons whose property and interests in property have been blocked by the U.S. or to nongovernmental organizations owned or controlled by the Government of Burma.

Labels: Burma/Myanmar

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued a final rule in the Federal Register expanding the scope of activities allowed under the general licenses for publishing activities contained in OFAC's Cuba, Sudan, Iran and Burma sanctions regulations.

As a result of today's final rule, the general licenses relating to publishing activities permit the export and inclusion of embedded software necessary for reading, browsing, navigating or searching "written publications". In order to be eligible for the general licenses for Iran and Sudan, however, the embedded software must be classified as EAR99 under the Export Administration Regulations. The general licenses for Cuba and Burma now permit the export of such software if "the exportation is licensed or otherwise authorized by the Department of Commerce under the provisions of the EAR".

The final rule also amends the various sanctions regulations by clarifying that the term "written publications'' used in the general licenses includes manuscripts, books, journals and newspapers even if they are published solely in electronic format.

OFAC's amendment of the Iran and Sudan general licenses relating to the export of embedded software for reading or browsing written publications does not appear to be a significant change in licensing policy. This is because even the most basic software products for reading or searching written publications are not classified as EAR99. For example, Adobe's on-line product matrix confirms that Acrobat eBook Reader and Adobe Reader are classified as ECCN 5D992, since they contain encryption algorithms. Similarly, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is also classified as ECCN 5D992. Even Mozilla's Firefox is classified as ECCN 5D002.

Labels: Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, OFAC, Sanctions; Iran, Sanctions; Sudan

On a voice vote the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday voted to approve legislation (H.J. Res. 44) that would renew for one year the import restrictions on Burma (Myanmar) that were originally enacted in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note). The Senate Finance Committee favorably reported similar legislation on Monday as well (S.J. Res. 16).

The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act prohibits the importation into the U.S. of items of Burmese origin. The President may waive these sanctions once a series of human rights, democracy and counter-narcotics requirements have been met. While the Secretary of State has been granted the authority to act on behalf of the President in issuing such waivers, no waivers have been granted since the import ban took effect on August 27, 2003.

Update: On July 24, 2007, the Senate voted to approve H.J. Res. 44 by a vote of 93-1. Senator Enzi (R-WY) was the only Senator to vote against the resolution. The Joint Resolution has been sent to the President.

Labels: Burma/Myanmar