Effective September 7, 2010, the Postal Service™ will add a new subchapter 510 to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to comply with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations, in conformance with Title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Chapter V, in which the U.S. Department of the Treasury prohibits mailers from sending items to certain countries and recipients.
In addition, we will update the Individual Country Listings for Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan to stipulate that under OFAC regulations there are specific “country programs” that include broad sanctions. Thus, prior to mailing any item to these destinations, mailers should refer to IMM 510 or go to www.treas.gov/ofac for additional information.
We will also revise the Individual Country Listings for Belarus and for Kosovo. Unlike Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan, neither Belarus nor Kosovo has a country program that includes broad sanctions; rather, OFAC regulations that affect Belarus and Kosovo are now codified under the new IMM 510.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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5 Nonpostal Export Regulations
[Insert new subchapter 510 to read as follows:]
510 Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Regulations — U.S. Department of the Treasury
511 General
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.
512 Prohibited Destinations, Specially Designated Nationals, and Blocked Persons
Mailers may not send items to certain countries (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan) or to a “blocked person.” Blocked persons include individuals and entities (regardless of the mailing destination) that are listed on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. The SDN list is available online at www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf.
513 Additional Standards
In addition to the restrictions in 512, mailers may not send items to an entity if a blocked person owns 50 percent or more of that entity.
514 Exceptions
Many OFAC sanctions programs have exemptions that cover the mailing of items such as certain humanitarian donations, personal communications containing nothing of value, or informational materials like books, newspapers, and CDs. In addition, under each sanctions program OFAC has established “general licenses” that authorize shipments under certain conditions. If no exemption or general license applies, a mailing may be allowed if the mailer applies for and obtains a “specific license” from OFAC.
The exemptions and general licenses are specific to each sanctions program, and mailers are advised to review the OFAC regulations applicable to the relevant sanctions program.
515 Mailer Compliance
Mailers are required to comply with these regulations. Mailers may be subject to civil and criminal penalties for failing to comply with any part of OFAC’s regulations.
516 Additional Information
For additional information, including an explanation of each sanctions program, licenses, and exemptions, see the relevant set of OFAC’s regulations for each sanctions program in 31 C.F.R. Chapter V, available at www.treas.gov/ofac, or contact OFAC at 202-622-2000.
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Individual Country Listings
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Belarus
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Restrictions
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[Delete the fourth restriction, which starts with “Mailers may not send items to a blocked person….”]
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Cuba
Country Conditions for Mailing
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[Replace the second paragraph of the introduction with the following two paragraphs:]
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury administers sanctions that restrict the mailing of items to certain destinations and recipients, including a broad sanctions program against Cuba. Prior to mailing any items to Cuba, mailers should refer to IMM 510 or access www.treas.gov/ofac for additional information.
In addition, prior to mailing, mailers mailing gift parcels and humanitarian donations must abide by the rules in 15 CFR § 740.12, or with the rules for consumer communications devices, computers, and software in 15 CFR § 740.19, which can be accessed at www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr. The maximum weight is 4 pounds. Potentially dutiable items may be confiscated upon entering Cuba or returned to sender.
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Iran
Country Conditions for Mailing
[Revise the introductory paragraph to read as follows:]
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury administers sanctions that restrict the mailing of items to certain destinations and recipients, including a broad sanctions program against Iran. Prior to mailing any items to Iran, mailers should refer to IMM 510 or access www.treas.gov/ofac for additional information.
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Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of (North Korea)
Country Conditions for Mailing
[Insert the following paragraph to be the first paragraph in the introduction:]
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury administers sanctions that restrict the mailing of items to certain destinations and recipients, including a broad sanctions program against North Korea. Prior to mailing any items to North Korea, mailers should refer to IMM 510 or access www.treas.gov/ofac for additional information.
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Kosovo, Republic of
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Observations
[Revise the text to read as follows:]
Certain shipments may require a license by the U.S. Commerce Department under the Export Administration Regulations (see 530).
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Sudan
Country Conditions for Mailing
[Revise the introductory paragraph to read as follows:]
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury administers sanctions that restrict the mailing of items to certain destinations and recipients, including a broad sanctions program against Sudan. Prior to mailing any items to Sudan, mailers should refer to IMM 510 or access www.treas.gov/ofac for additional information.
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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, 7-29-10
