The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will end its participation in a CBP pilot on electronic filing in ACE of export-related ATF forms and data (see 1607080020), ATF said in a notice. The Border Interagency Executive Council and the departments of the Treasury and Homeland Security “asked ATF to end the pilot,” the notice said. “Pilot participants can continue to function as they did while on the pilot. Participants will not notice any differences after the pilot has ended. At some point, CBP will mandate importers and exporters to use the ACE single window; however, [the Department of Homeland Security] needs all pilots successfully completed to move to their next phase of implementation. The termination of the pilot will not cause any delays for participating exporters, and CBP will continue to transmit the certificate of exportation to ATF electronically.” CBP has not yet announced a date for when the filing entries in ACE will be mandatory, the notice said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule listing the Southern Sierra Nevada Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the fisher (Pekania pennanti), a mammal species in the weasel family, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The listing only applies to fishers from the Southern Sierra Nevada DPS in Central California, and not the population in Northern California and southern Oregon. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect June 15.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list para-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), a drug similar to methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) that is also sold as “ecstasy,” as a schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. “If finalized, this action would impose 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 PMMA,” DEA said. Comments are due June 15.

CBP created a page dedicated to “technical documentation related to filing export related content to CBP and the Automated Commercial Environment's AESDirect.”

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is reducing registration fees for certain DDTC registrants to help industry mitigate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said in a May 1 notice. DDTC will temporarily reduce registration fees for “DDTC registrants in Tier I and Tier II” to $500 “for registrations whose original expiration date is between May 31, 2020 and April 30, 2021,” the agency said. DDTC will also reduce registration fees to $500 for new applicants who submit their registration application between May 1 and April 30, 2021. DDTC said this reduction in fees “will save regulated industry over $20 million over the course of the coming year.” The temporary fee reduction will apply only though April 30, 2021. The agency added that the fee structure for “Tier III entities remains unchanged at this time.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule listing the island marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus), an insect species from Washington state, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect June 4.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for three chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemicals for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemicals will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect July 6.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 20 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemicals for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemicals will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect June 3.

At the southern border, not every document can be processed electronically yet, but they're working on it, the CBP Laredo Field Office told traders on a conference call May 1. Documents including meat certificates, phytosanitary certificates, bovine paperwork, and CITES certificates are still needed in paper form. Assistant Director of Field Operations Armando Taboada asked those listening to make sure the drivers and runners coming to the Texas port wear masks. “I know Gov. [Greg] Abbott relaxed a little bit of the requirements,” he said, but added, “It’s for our own health and safety, for all of us.” He said most drivers are wearing masks, but there are a few stragglers.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule reclassifying the golden conure (Gauruba guarouba), a psittacine bird (parrots, parakeets, macaws, cockatoos, and others) endemic to the south Amazon Basin in Brazil, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The species had been listed as endangered. Though the agency recently ended blanket import-export restrictions for threatened species, FWS is including a 4(d) rule that prohibits imports and exports without a permit, unless the export is authorized under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the import is authorized under CITES and the Wild Bird Conservation Act. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect May 26.