Removal of Short Supply License Requirements on Exports of Crude Oil

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) publishes this final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to remove the short supply license requirements that, prior to the entry into force of the "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016" on December 18, 2015, applied to exports of crude oil from the United States. Specifically, this rule removes the Commerce Control List (CCL) entry and the corresponding short supply provisions in the EAR that required a license from BIS to export crude oil from the United States. This rule also amends certain other EAR provisions to reflect the removal of these short supply license requirements. The changes made by this rule are intended to bring the provisions of the EAR into full compliance with the act, which mandates that, apart from certain exemptions specified therein, "no official of the Federal Government shall impose or enforce any restriction on the export of crude oil." Consistent with the exceptions in the act, exports of crude oil continue to require authorization from BIS to embargoed or sanctioned countries or persons and to persons subject to a denial of export privileges.