Census to Reject Invalid USML Category XXI Filings, Address FMS Workaround
The Automated Export System on Jan. 1 will begin rejecting filings of shipments controlled under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI if they don’t include a valid State Department commodity jurisdiction determination number, the Census Bureau said this week. Census is also putting in place new AES codes to address a “workaround” used by some exporters to ship Foreign Military Sales (FMS) items that aren’t described on the USML.
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A new fatal error code, which will appear as error code 5C2, will help Census implement a rule released in 2023 that created a new data element in the AES for shippers to report when exporting items classified under USML Category XXI (see 2308090018). That category covers exports and defense services that are “not otherwise enumerated” under other USML categories, and the new data element is designed to help the government collect more data on those types of exports (see 2305050024).
The error code had previously only been appearing in AES as an “informational” error message (see 2308100021). Census has told exporters that they should submit a commodity jurisdiction determination request through the State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System if they are unsure whether their item is controlled under Category XXI or elsewhere in the USML.
Census is also introducing new codes after the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said it became “aware” of some exporters using USML Category Code 21 -- the AES code for exports shipped under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI -- as a “workaround” to export items under License Code/License Exemption Code S94, which covers certain Foreign Military Sales of items not described on the USML. It said most of those items would have been subject to the Commerce Department’s Export Administration Regulations if they weren’t being exported using an FMS authorization, but Census said items exported under FMS authority were excluded from being subject to the EAR in 2013.
To address this issue and to continue to allow exporters to use code S94 after fatal error code 5C3 takes effect Jan. 1, the message said AES is implementing DDTC USML Category Code 55 and Fatal Error Code 5C3.
Code 55 will cover articles exported under FMS authority and not described on the USML. It should be reported in electronic export information only when the export takes place under the FMS program and the item to be exported isn’t described in USML Categories I-XXI, the message said. “By using DDTC USML Category Code ‘55’ and the AES License Code/License Exemption Code S94, you are certifying that the terms, provisions, and conditions of the FMS program have been met,” Census said.
Although S94 can be used for any export under the FMS program and is eligible alongside any USML Category Codes, Census said USML Category Code 55 can only be used with S94. It also said Export Information Codes FS and FI are the only eligible Export Information Codes that can be reported with USML Category Code 55 under S94.
If code 55 is reported under any other license types, AES will generate a fatal error code 5C3, and the filing will be rejected.