IMM Revision: Restrictions for Belarus

Effective May 3, 2010, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM^®) to reflect current restric­tions for Belarus.

This revision is consistent with a final rule issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and published in the Federal Register on February 3, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 22, 5502–5511), which promulgates certain sanctions against certain nation­als of Belarus. To the extent that these changes apply to Postal Service customers or addressees, the revised IMM standards implement the portions of the Treasury’s directive that are effectuated through the OFAC regulations.

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)

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Individual Country Listings

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Belarus

Country Conditions for Mailing

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Restrictions

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[Insert the following text as the new fourth restriction (mov­ing the current fourth and fifth restrictions to be the new fifth and sixth):]

Mailers may not send items to a blocked person, which includes an individual or entity that is listed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nation­als list. Also, mailers may not send items to any entity owned fifty percent (50%) or more by any blocked person. This restriction does not apply if the mailer obtains or qualifies for a license from OFAC, or if the item is covered by an applica­ble exemption. Many OFAC sanctions programs have exemptions that cover the mailing of personal communica­tions containing nothing of value, certain humanitarian dona­tions, and informational materials such as books, newspapers, and CDs. For additional information, including an explanation of each sanctions program, licenses, and exemptions, see the relevant set of OFAC’s regulations for Belarus at www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn, or contact OFAC at 202-622-2000.

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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed ver­sion of the IMM and into the monthly update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer^® at http://pe.usps.com.

— Mailing Standards, Pricing, 4-8-10