Revisions and Clarifications to the Commerce Control List; Chemical and Biological Weapons Controls; Australia Group

This final rule amends the Commerce Control List (CCL) of the Export Administration Regulations to implement an October 1999 Australia Group agreement to clarify the scope of controls on saxitoxin, toxic gas monitoring systems, and cross-flow filtration equipment, as well as clarifying the application of the rule for mixtures containing Australia Group (AG) chemicals that are also identified as Schedule 1 chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention. The final rule also amends the CCL to authorize, without a license, exports of certain medical products containing botulinum toxin, and certain diagnostic and food testing kits that contain AG- controlled toxins. Finally, this final rule amends the CCL to add titanium carbide and silicon carbide to the list of construction materials for heat exchangers. Restrictions on chemicals and toxins that are also controlled for CW (Chemical Weapons Convention) purposes continue to apply. This rule will result in an overall decreased licensing burden on U.S. industry.