The Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to tighten endangered species permit requirements for imports and exports of African elephants. The agency’s proposed rule, released Nov. 16, would remove an exception from permit requirements for imports and exports of live African elephants and establish standards used to evaluate “enhancement” permits for imports of wild-sourced live African elephants. The proposal also would clarify the FWS’s existing enhancement requirement for applications to import sport-hunted trophies. FWS would also incorporate a country’s designation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species National Legislation Project into the decision-making process for the import of live African elephants, African elephant sport-hunted trophies, and African elephant parts and products other than ivory and sport-hunted trophies, the agency said. Comments are due by Jan. 17.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is listing amineptine, a synthetic tricyclic antidepressant with central nervous system (CNS) stimulating properties, under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice released Nov. 16. “This action imposes the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis with, or possess), or propose to handle, amineptine," DEA said. The listing takes effect Dec. 19.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule reclassifying the palo de rosa (Ottoschulzia rhodoxylon), a small evergreen tree native to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The listing includes a 4(d) rule for this species that prohibits importation and exportation without a permit.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new reporting requirements for 25 chemicals under significant new use rules. The proposed SNURs would require notification to EPA at least 90 days in advance of a new use by importers, manufacturers or processors, it said in a notice published in the Oct. 31 Federal Register. Importers of chemicals subject to these proposed SNURs would need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements should these proposed rules be finalized, EPA said. Exporters of these chemicals would become subject to export notification requirements. Comments on the proposed SNURs are due by Nov. 30. The SNURs would cover the following chemical substances:

After noticing a recent rise in foreign governments asking for copies of Electronic Export Information, the Census Bureau reminded U.S. exporters this week that information in EEI, and “related documentation,” is “confidential” and can’t be shared with other countries. EEI filings are “required to satisfy U.S. regulatory requirements, not the needs of foreign governments,” Census said in an Oct. 27 email to industry.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule listing the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), a flightless bird species from Antarctica, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The listing includes a 4(d) rule for this species that prohibits importation and exportation without a permit. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect Nov. 25.

The Census Bureau emailed tips Oct. 20 on how to address the most frequent messages generated this month in the Automated Export System. Response code 075 is a fatal error when a Shipment Reference Number is already on file in AES. "When the Shipment Filing Action Request Indicator is an Add, the Shipment Reference Number cannot have been reported on a previous filing in AES," Census said. "The reuse of the Shipment Reference Number is prohibited." The filer should "verify the action requested" and the Shipment Reference Number, correct the shipment and resubmit.

The Census Bureau plans to cancel its Advanced Export Information pilot program (see 14013015) because it was “unable to conduct sufficient analysis and evaluation” of the program due to a lack of “adequate participation,” the agency said in a notice this week. The program, first announced in 2014, will end Dec. 13. On and after Dec. 13, the remaining pilot program participants should no longer report Electronic Export Information through the AEI pilot program and instead should report EEI to the Automated Export System “in accordance with the Foreign Trade Regulations,” Census said.

After the Census Bureau heard last weekend that exporters are still facing penalties for minor filing errors, such as incorrect port of export (see 2210110012), a CBP spokesperson said, the agency has urged ports to carefully review penalties before imposing them. “CBP advises ports to consider the totality of the circumstances when issuing penalties,” an agency spokesperson said Oct. 12. The person also said CBP “provides mitigation guidelines for penalties” assessed for a range of reasons, including failure to file export information in the Automated Export System and incorrect filings.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the snail darter (Percina tanasi), a small freshwater fish native to the Tennessee River watershed, from the Endangered Species List, it said in a final rule released Oct. 4. An FWS review indicated that “the threats to the species have been reduced or eliminated to the point that it has recovered and is no longer in danger of extinction or likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future." the agency said. The delisting takes effect Nov. 4.