Effective November 29, 2009, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) subchapter 530 to update our exporting licensing standards to comply with the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regulations.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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5 Nonpostal Export Regulations
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530 Commodities and Technical Data
[Revise subchapter 530 in its entirety as follows:]
531 Scope and Applicability of Export Licensing Requirements
531.1 U.S. Department of Commerce — Bureau of Industry and Security; Export Controls
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regulates the export of commodities, software, and technologies in certain circumstances, pursuant to the Commerce Department’s Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 C.F.R. Parts 730–774). Among other things, BIS requires exporters to apply for and receive a license before sending certain commodities, software, or technology out of the country. The EAR can be found online at www.access.gpo.gov/bis.
Other U.S. government agencies have export control responsibilities for regulating more specialized exports. For example, military goods might be subject to the licensing jurisdiction of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls at the Department of State. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries, terrorism-sponsoring organizations, international narcotics traffickers, and other blocked entities. The BIS Web site identifies resource links for various U.S. government agencies with export control responsibilities. Customers may obtain a listing of these links at www.bis.doc.gov/About/reslinks.htm.
531.2 Export Enforcement
BIS implements and enforces the EAR. Many items regulated by the EAR are referred to as “dual-use” items, meaning that the items have both commercial and military or proliferation applications. However, many purely commercial items also are subject to the EAR. BIS’s mission is to advance U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic objectives by ensuring an effective export control and treaty compliance system and by promoting continued U.S. strategic technology leadership. Senders must understand and comply with BIS’s regulations when exporting commodities, software, or technology by mail. Postal Service employees will not advise prospective mailers of the type of license required for or the type of authorization available for the export of any item to any destination or recipient. However, if an export control violation has occurred or might occur, or for more information, contact the following source:
Office of Export Enforcement (OEE)
Bureau of Industry and Security
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20230-0002
Telephone: 202-482-1208
In addition, OEE has nine field offices located throughout the United States. Information about these field offices is available at www.bis.doc.gov/about/programoffices.htm.
532 Export Licenses
532.1 General
BIS might require an export license based on several factors specific to a mailer’s transaction: the nature and use of the item (commodity, software, or technology) being exported, its destination, the consignee, and the end user. Exports to certain countries are more heavily restricted than others. For example, BIS maintains comprehensive controls against countries designated as “terrorist-supporting countries” (as of October 2009, these countries are Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria).
532.2 Export — Definition
Any item that is sent from the United States to a foreign destination is an export. “Items” include commodities, software, and technology. For example, clothing, building materials, circuit boards, automotive parts, blueprints, design plans, retail software packages, and technical information are “items” that may be subject to export control.
In determining export license requirements, it does not matter how an item is transported outside the United States. For example, an item can be sent by regular mail or hand-carried on an airplane; a set of schematics can be sent via facsimile to a foreign destination, software can be uploaded to or downloaded from an Internet site, or technology can be transmitted via e-mail or during a telephone conversation. Regardless of the method used for the transfer, the transaction is considered an “export” for export control purposes. An item is also considered an export even if it is leaving the United States only temporarily, if it is leaving the United States but is not for sale (e.g., a gift), or if it is being mailed to a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary in a foreign country. Finally, under the EAR, release of technology or source code subject to the EAR to a foreign national in the United States is “deemed” to be an export to the home country of the foreign national.
532.3 How to Determine If an Export License Is Needed
A relatively small percentage of U.S. exports require an export license from BIS. License requirements are dependent upon an item’s technical characteristics, destination, recipients, and end use. The value of the shipment does not affect the export license requirements. It is the mailer’s responsibility to determine if an export requires a license under the EAR. For further assistance about whether an export license might be required, visit www.export.gov/regulation or www.bis.doc.gov/licensing, or call 202-482-4811.
532.4 Additional Information
Additional information concerning export licenses is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce as follows:
a. Mailers located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming should contact either of the following offices:
BIS Western Regional Office
U.S. Department of Commerce
3300 Irvine Ave., Ste. 345
Newport Beach, CA 92660-3112
Telephone: 949-660-0144
Fax: 949-660-9347
e-mail: biswest@bis.doc.gov
BIS Western Regional Office — Northern CA Branch
U.S. Department of Commerce
160 West Santa Clara St.,
Ste. 725
San Jose, CA 95113-1758
Telephone: 408-998-8806
Fax: 408-998-8677
e-mail: biswest@bis.doc.gov
b. Mailers in all other locations should contact the following office:
Office of Exporter Services
Outreach and Exporter Services Division
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th St.. & Pennsylvania Ave N.W.
Washington, DC 20230-0001
Telephone: 202-482-4811
Fax: 202-482-2927
e-mail: ecdoexs@bis.doc.gov
533 Additional Standards
533.1 Shipper’s Export Declaration
Commerce Form 7525-V, Shipper’s Export Declaration, is obsolete and no longer accepted by the Postal Service.
533.2 Shipper’s Electronic Export Filing Required
If an export requires a license, the customer must electronically file export information with the U.S. Bureau of the Census before mailing (see 520).
533.3 Processing at Post Office Facilities
For items requiring an export license, Postal Service personnel at Post Office facilities must verify that the customs declaration is complete (see 123), including a license number in block 17 and a Proof of Filing Citation or AES Downtime Citation (see 520) in block 11.
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We will incorporate these revisions 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, 11-5-09
