On October 6, 2017, the Bureau of the Census published in the Federal Register an advance notice of proposed rulemaking [Docket No.: 170606545-7857-01] seeking public comments to perform a review of the requirements governing routed export transactions. In particular, the Census Bureau is interested in comments regarding the definition of a routed export transaction as well as the responsibilities of parties in routed export transactions. Routed export transactions are transactions in which the Foreign Principal Party in Interest (FPPI) controls the movement of the goods out of the country. There are a variety of reasons why the FPPI assumes this responsibility such as the use of a preferred carrier and the desire to not disclose the ultimate consignee to the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI), although the ultimate consignee is properly identified to the U.S. Government. Because the FPPI controls the movement of the goods in a routed transaction and cannot file Electronic Export Information (EEI), the Census Bureau requires the FPPI to authorize a U.S. authorized agent or the USPPI to file the EEI on its behalf. This ensures that the Census Bureau collects the statistical information. The Census Bureau, through the Automated Export System (AES) collects EEI, the electronic equivalent of the export data formerly collected on the Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED), reported pursuant to the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), Title 15, C.F.R. Part 30. The Federal Register notice contains a number of questions to assist in preparing comments.
Written comments must be received on or before December 5, 2017.
