Comment Request Regarding the Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Exportation of Agricultural Commodities, Medicine, and Medical Devices to Sudan, Libya, and Iran

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Foreign Assets Control 31 CFR Part 538, 550, and 560 Comment Request Regarding the Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Exportation of Agricultural Commodities, Medicine, and Medical Devices to Sudan, Libya, and Iran AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury. ACTION: Request for comments. SUMMARY: The Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘‘OFAC‘‘) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning the effectiveness of OFAC’s licensing procedures implementing the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (the ‘‘Act’’), for the exportation of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Sudan, Libya, and Iran. Pursuant to section 906(c) of the Act, OFAC is required to submit a biennial report to the Congress on the operation of licensing procedures for such exports. DATES: Written comments should be received on or before September 8, 2004 to be assured of consideration. ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to the Licensing Division, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information about these licensing procedures should be directed to the Licensing Division, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220, telephone: (202) 622–2480. Additional information about these licensing procedures is also available under the heading ‘‘Sanctions Program and Country Summaries’’ at http://www.treas.gov/ofac. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The current procedures used by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘‘OFAC’’) for authorizing the export of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Sudan, Libya, and Iran are set forth in 31 CFR 538.523 through 538.526, 31 CFR 550.569 through 550.573, and 31 CFR 560.530 through
560.533. Under the provisions of section
906(c) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (Title IX of Pub. L. 106–387, 22 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) (the ‘‘Act’’), OFAC must submit a report to the Congress on the operation, during the preceding two year period, of the licensing procedures required by section 906 of the Act for the export of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Sudan, Libya, and Iran. This report is to include:
(1) The number and types of licenses applied for; (2) The number and types of licenses approved; (3) The average amount of time elapsed from the date of filing of a license application until the date of its approval; (4) The extent to which the licensing procedures were effectively implemented; and (5) A description of comments received from interested parties about the extent to which the licensing procedures were effective, after holding a public 30-day comment period. This notice serves as public notice soliciting comments from interested parties regarding the effectiveness of OFAC’s licensing procedures for the export of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Sudan, Libya, and Iran. Interested parties submitting comments are asked to be as specific as possible. All comments received on or before September 8, 2004 will be considered by OFAC in developing the report to the Congress. In the interest of accuracy and completeness, OFAC requires written comments. Comments received after the end of the comment period will be considered, if possible, but their consideration cannot be assured. OFAC will not accept comments accompanied by a request that part or all of the comments be treated confidentially because of their business proprietary nature or for any other reason. OFAC will return such comments when submitted by regular mail to the person submitting the comments and will not consider them. All comments made will be a matter of public record. Copies of the public record concerning these regulations may be obtained from OFAC’s Web site (http://www.treas.gov/ ofac). If that service is unavailable, written requests may be sent to: Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20220, Attn: Merete Evans. Note: Effective April 29, 2004, General License of April 23, 2004 and 31 CFR Part 550, Libya Sanctions Regulations (‘‘LSR’’), authorize U.S. persons to engage in most transactions previously prohibited by the LSR, including the exportation and reexportation of goods, software or technology by U.S. persons to Libya or the Government of Libya. Accordingly, specific licenses issued by OFAC for the export of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Libya are no longer required pursuant to the LSR. This authorization does not, however, eliminate the need to comply with other provisions of law, including the Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR parts 730 through 799, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Approved: July 27, 2004. R. Richard Newcomb, Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control. [FR Doc. 04–17954 Filed 8–6–04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4810–25–M