Effective March 19, 2015, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) parts 512, 514, 516, 524, 526, 531, and 532 and the Individual Country Listing for Ukraine in accordance with regulatory issuances published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security in a Federal Register final rule titled “Russian Sanctions: Licensing Policy for the Crimea Region of Ukraine” (80 FR 4776–4779), and in accordance with regulatory changes published by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control in a Federal Register article titled “Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect to the Crimea Region of Ukraine” (79 FR 77357–77359) to implement Executive Order No. 13685, which imposes a comprehensive embargo on items sent internationally to the Crimea region of Ukraine.
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Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual
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5 Nonpostal Export Regulations
510 Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Regulations — U.S. Department of Treasury
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512 Prohibited Destinations, Specially Designated Nationals, and Blocked Persons
[Revise the first sentence to read as follows:]
Mailers may not send items to certain countries or regions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and the Crimea region of Ukraine) or to a “blocked person” unless authorized by OFAC (see 514).***
[Add a Note after the paragraph to read as follows:]
Note: The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) also regulates exports to these countries and regions (see 532.1). The mailer might require separate authorization from both BIS and OFAC. For more information, see Publication 699, Special Requirements for Shipping Internationally.
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514 Exceptions
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[Add Note after the paragraph to read as follows:]
Note: The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) also regulates exports to these countries and regions (see 532.1). The mailer might require separate authorization from both BIS and OFAC. For more information, see Publication 699.
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516 Additional Information
[Revise the text to read as follows:]
The Postal Service provides additional information about OFAC sanctions and other international shipping requirements in Publication 699. For in-depth information, including an explanation of each OFAC sanctions program, licenses, and exemptions, see OFAC’s website at http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx, or contact OFAC at 202-622-2000.
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520 Foreign Trade Regulations – U.S. Census Bureau
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524 Internal Transaction Number (ITN)
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524.2 Filing Requirements
524.21 Mandatory Filing
Electronic filing of export information is required when any of the following applies:
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[Revise item c to read as follows:]
c. The shipment contains goods, is destined to Cuba, North Korea, or the Crimea region of Ukraine, and does not qualify as informational materials or as a “gift parcel or humanitarian donation” as defined by 15 CFR §740.12.
[Add new item d to read as follows (redesignating previous items d–f as e–g):]
d. The shipment qualifies as a “gift parcel or humanitarian donation” and is destined for the Crimea region of Ukraine, but requires a specific license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control. (See 510 for more information.)
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[Revise the Note to read as follows (adding an exception for the Crimea region):]
Note: With the exception of the Crimea region of Ukraine, the countries in 524.21b and c are those identified in Country Group E:1 in the Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR Part 740, Supplement No. 1.
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526 AES Exemption
526.1 General
***The following conditions apply:
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[Revise item b to read as follows (updating the cross-reference):]
b. A mailer cannot apply an AES Exemption to shipments that fall within 524.21b–g.
526.2 When Applicable
[Revise the first sentence to read as follows (updating the cross-reference):]
Customers with shipments not meeting the mandatory filing requirements under 524.21b–g may apply an AES Exemption such as the following on each customs declaration form:
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[Revise item c to read as follows:]
c. “NOEEI 30.37(h)” or “NOEEI 30.37(y)” for shipments of gift parcels and humanitarian donations that are eligible to be sent to Cuba, North Korea, or the Crimea region of Ukraine. In addition, the mailer must endorse the item with the marking “GIFT — Export License Not Required” on the address side of the package. The mailer must also write “GFT” in the same block as the AES Exemption on the applicable required customs declaration, as described in 527. The mailer must complete all other blocks of the customs declaration form, including the “Detailed description of contents.” Note: For shipments of gift parcels and humanitarian donations that are eligible to be sent to the Crimea region of Ukraine, filing may or may not be required, depending on whether the shipments require a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (see 510 and 524.21d).
[Revise item d to add a final sentence to read as follows:]
d. *** Note: For shipments of informational materials that are eligible to be sent to the Crimea region of Ukraine, filing may or may not be required, depending on requirements in 524.21a, 524.21d–g, and 526.2b.
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530 Commodities and Technical Data
531 Scope and Applicability of Export Licensing Requirements
531.1 U.S. Department of Commerce — Bureau of Industry and Security; Export Controls
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[Add a new last paragraph to read as follows:]
For additional information about these requirements, see Publication 699.
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532 Export Licenses
532.1 General
[Revise the third sentence (adding a reference to the Crimea region of Ukraine), and add a new final sentence to read as follows:]
***For example, BIS maintains comprehensive controls against certain countries and regions (as of February 2015, these are Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and the Crimea region of Ukraine). For additional information on requirements for shipping to these countries and regions, see Publication 699.
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Individual Country Listings
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Ukraine
Country Conditions for Mailing
[Before the “Prohibitions” section, add a paragraph to read as follows:]
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce administer sanctions that restrict the mailing of items to certain destinations and recipients, including a broad embargo on items to and from the Crimea region of Ukraine (Crimea). Many shipments to Crimea also require the filing of information with the U.S. Census Bureau. Before mailing any items to Crimea, mailers should refer to IMM 510, 520, and 530 and to Publication 699, Special Requirements for Shipping Internationally, for additional information.
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Although effective March 19, 2015, we will incorporate these revisions into the April 26, 2015, update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 3-19-15
