Effective December 7, 2017, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to reflect changes to Chapter 5 and the Individual Country Listing for Sudan by removing the information about Sudan as an embargoed destination, and also updating other sanctions information to various countries.
Effective October 12, 2017, the U.S. government lifted certain economic sanctions on Sudan, including the export ban, the import ban, the prohibition on transactions with the Sudanese government, and the prohibition on dealing with certain persons and organizations. With some caveats, these transactions will no longer require a license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). However, because the U.S. government still designates Sudan as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism,” the U.S. Census Bureau’s export information filing requirements remain in place.
In addition, the Postal Service is revising for accuracy IMM references to the Census Bureau’s exemption for certain informational materials to foreign libraries or similar institutions in many countries, as well as other references to Internet addresses and agency regulations.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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5 Nonpostal Export Regulations
510 Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Regulations — U.S. Department of the Treasury
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512 Prohibited Destinations, Specially Designated Nationals, and Blocked Persons
[Revise the first and third sentences of the first paragraph to read as follows (removing the reference to Sudan in the first sentence and updating the link for the SDN list in the third sentence):]
Mailers may not send items to certain countries or regions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and the Crimea region of Ukraine) or to a “blocked person” unless authorized by OFAC (see 514). *** The SDN list is available online at treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/SDN-List/Pages/default.aspx.
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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
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[Revise items b. and c. to read as follows (revising language referring to the informational materials exemption, which is now the foreign libraries exemption):]
b. The shipment is destined to Iran, Sudan, or Syria and does not qualify for the “foreign libraries” exemption described in 526.2d (for example, the shipment contains goods other than exempt items, or the shipment contains exempt items but is not being sent to a library or similar institution).
c. The shipment contains goods, is destined to Cuba or North Korea, and does not qualify for the exemption for shipments to foreign libraries (see 526.2d) or the exemption for gift parcels and humanitarian donations as defined by 15 CFR § 740.12.
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[Revise the Note after item g. to read as follows (removing the reference to Crimea and adding Country Group E:2):]
Note: The countries in 524.21b and c are those identified in Country Groups E:1 and E:2 in the Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR Part 740, Supplement No. 1.
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526 AES Exemption
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526.2 When Applicable
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[Revise item d. (just the main portion but not the Note, which remains the same) to read as follows (providing more explanation of the foreign libraries exemption):]
d. “NOEEI 30.37(y)” for shipments of published books, software, maps, charts, pamphlets, or any other similar media available for general distribution that are eligible to be sent to a library or similar institution in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria.
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[Revise the Note at the end of 526.2 (not the Note that is part of item d.) to read as follows:]
Note: For more information and a complete listing of these and other AES Exemptions, see Subpart D of the Foreign Trade Regulations, 15 CFR Part 30.
527 Placement of ITN, AES Downtime Citation, or AES Exemption
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[Revise item d. to read as follows (providing more explanation of the foreign libraries exemption):]
d. On PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22 — Sender’s Declaration, if the customer is sending items to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria under the “foreign libraries” exemption described in 526.2d, the customer must enter “NOEEI § 30.37(y).”
[Delete the “Note regarding Cuba” that is part of item d.]
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530 Commodities and Technical Data
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532 Export Licenses
532.1 General
[Revise the second sentence to read as follows (removing Sudan and the “as of” date):]
***For example, BIS maintains comprehensive controls againmst certain countries and regions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea region of Ukraine).***
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533 Additional Standards
[Delete 533.1; renumber current 533.2 as new 533.1, and revise the renumbered title to read as follows:]
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533.1 Shipper’s Electronic Export Information Filing Requirement
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[Renumber current 533.3 as new 533.2 and renumber the subsections accordingly.]
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540 Munitions (Defense Articles) and Related Technical Data
541 Licensing Requirements
541.1 Individual Licenses
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541.12 Exporting Technical Data
[Revise the text of 541.12 to read as follows (including deleting 541.121 and 541.122):]
The exportation of “technical data” as defined in 22 CFR §120.10 requires a license issued by the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). Information related to DDTC is available on its Web site at pmddtc.state.gov.
Information concerning licenses for the export of technical data is available online in 22 CFR Part 125 of the ITAR.
Technical data that has been published or that is otherwise exempt from licensing under 22 CFR Part 125 of the ITAR does not require a Department of State license for exportation. However, the sender must mark the outside of the mailpiece, identifying the specific subsection under which the exemption is claimed (for example, “22 CFR 125.4…APPLICABLE,” if 22 CFR § 125.4 is the citation for the relevant exemption).
541.2 Prohibited Countries
[Revise the text of 541.2 to read as follows (including reducing the number of countries listed):]
Neither export licenses nor license exemptions are available for items to certain prohibited countries. These countries are listed in 22 CFR § 126.1 of the ITAR. As of November 2017, these countries include the following:
a. Belarus.
b. Burma.
c. China.
d. Cuba.
e. Iran.
f. Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of
(North Korea).
g. Syria.
h. Venezuela.
Note: Mailers are advised to check the current version of 22 CFR § 126.1 of the ITAR for an updated list before mailing, as the list is subject to change.
[Add a new 541.3 to read as follows, and renumber current 541.3 and 541.4 as new 541.4 and 541.5.]
541.3 Restricted Countries
License exemptions are not available to certain restricted countries, although export licenses may be approved in certain circumstances that vary by country. These countries and the license conditions for each country are listed in 22 CFR § 126.1 of the ITAR. As of November 2017, these countries include the following:
a. Afghanistan.
b. Central African Republic.
c. Congo, Democratic Republic of the.
d. Cyprus.
e. Eritrea.
f. Haiti.
g. Iraq.
h. Lebanon.
i. Libya.
j. Somalia.
k. Sudan.
l. Zimbabwe.
Note: Mailers are advised to check the current version of 22 CFR § 126.1 of the ITAR for an updated list before mailing, as the list is subject to change.
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Individual Country Listings
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Sudan
Country Conditions for Mailing
[Revise the introductory text to read as follows:]
Many shipments to Sudan require the filing of information with the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce restricts the mailing of certain items to Sudan. Before mailing any items to Sudan, mailers should refer to IMM 520, 530, and 540, and to Publication 699, Special Requirements for Shipping Internationally, for additional information.
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Although effective December 7, 2017, we will incorporate these revisions into the next update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification, Marketing, 12-7-17
