US embassy cable - 04ROME4648

UNCLAS  ROME 004648 
 
SIPDIS 
 
CORRECTED COPY - TEXT 
TREASURY FOR OFAC 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
 
 
TAGS: EMIN, ETTC, IT, CU, EXPORT CONTROLS 
SUBJECT: ITALIAN REQUEST TO UPDATE NICKEL EXPORT AGREEMENT 
 
1. Action Request -- See Paragraph 5. 
 
2. The GOI recently contacted embassy regarding their 
interest in updating a 1982 agreement on issuance of 
certificates of origin for the export of nickel-bearing 
material to the U.S.  The agreement was intended to ensure 
that such exports did not contain nickel of Cuban origin. 
Under the agreement the Ministry of Productive Activities 
(MPA) is required to provide such certification, but given 
the closure of many provincial-level MPA offices (which had 
been issuing the certificates), the GOI now believes that 
local Chambers of Commerce should have that authority. 
 
3. On November 24, 2004, the GOI forwarded the following 
diplomatic note 081/P/0512605: 
 
(Informal Embassy translation) 
(Complimentary Opening) 
 
. . . and refers to the Agreement by exchange of notes on 
the certification procedures for the export of nickel- 
bearing material from Italy to the United States, done at 
Washington on January 6, 1982 (modified by exchange of 
letters of August 8, 1983), and in particular part H of the 
accord regarding consultation by both Parties. 
 
As illustrated verbally to the Embassy in the course of the 
November 19, 2004 meeting at the Foreign Ministry, some 
intervening changes in Italian legislation (closure of the 
provincial offices of the Ministry of Industry -- now 
called the Ministry of Productive Activities -- and the 
transfer of their authority in matters of certification to 
the Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and 
Artisanship -- CCIAA) necessitates an update of the 
reference Agreement, substituting, as necessary, the CCIAA 
as territorially competent for the Ministry of Industry. 
Regarding this proposal, the Ministry notes that, under the 
terms of Article 1, comma 2, of Italian Legislative Decree 
165 dated March 30, 2001, the Italian CCIAA offices 
obtained the status of "public administration." 
 
The Ministry therefore proposes to the Embassy to convey 
the following amendments to the text of the Agreement: 
 
(note -- following text in English in original) 
 
PROCEDURES 
 
"The Government of Italy will issue, through the relevant 
territorial Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and 
Handicraft (the organism designated for this purpose by the 
Italian Government), hereinafter referred to as CCIAH, 
certificates of origin" 
 
A.     REGISTRATION OF PRODUCERS AND INSPECTION OF RECORDS 
 
(1) Italian producers of nickel-bearing materials who wish 
to obtain certificates of origin in accordance with the 
procedures listed herein in order to export their products 
to the United States are required to register with the 
relevant territorial CCIAH, which will have authority to 
issue such certificates. Registration will be considered on 
a plant-by-plant basis. Registration for certification for 
nickel-bearing materials will be granted only for those 
plants which do not use and do not intend to use: (1) 
nickel or nickel oxide originating in Cuba or (2) steel 
mill products containing more than 2.5% nickel unless 
obtained in accordance with the provisions in paragraph 
B(3). The relevant territorial CCIAH will promptly 
deregister any plant that ceases to meet these conditions." 
 
"(3) An official representative of the relevant territorial 
CCIAH shall inspect the records" 
 
"(4) These samples shall be analyzed either at the 
laboratory of the registered production plant or at an 
independent laboratory designated for this purpose by the 
relevant territorial CCIAH. In either case, the analysis 
shall be performed under the supervision of a 
representative of the relevant territorial CCIAH.  A 
A 
certified copy of the analysis report shall be retained by 
the relevant territorial CCIAH for each shipment received." 
 
B. SOURCES OF NICKEL AND SOURCES OF STEEL MILL PRODUCTS 
CONTAINING MORE THAN 2.5% NICKEL 
 
"(1) . . . where no certification agreement is in effect 
 
(e.g., nickel granules and nickel sulphate from the 
U.S.S.R. and nickel-bearing materials from Czechoslovakia). 
(GOI proposes deletion of the entire preceding 
parenthetical reference). 
 
C. ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN 
 
"(1) Any registrated producer who wishes to export nickel- 
bearing materials to the United States shall submit an 
application for a certificate of origin to the relevant 
territorial CCIAH." 
 
"(4)  in paragraphs B(3) (a) and (c) above. The 
relevant territorial CCIAH shall not issue its 
certification unless it has seen the applicable certificate 
of origin and determined that it has been appropriately 
issued. The prior certificate(s) of origin shall be affixed 
to the certificate issued by the relevant territorial CCIAH 
and shall accompany the shipping documents." 
 
"(5) An official representative of the relevant territorial 
CCIAH shall inspect the nickel-bearing material  The 
inspector shall stamp on each package a special reference 
number of which the relevant territorial CCIAH shall 
maintain a record" 
 
"(7) The application shall then be forwarded to the 
relevant territorial CCIAH which, if satisfied" 
 
"(8)  shall bear the following statement: 
 
"The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and 
Handicraft of , entrusted by the Government of Italy, 
hereby certifies that " 
 
D. CONTROL OF SHIPPING 
 
"(1) Italian Customs authorities  with the affixed seals 
of the relevant territorial CCIAH" 
 
E.NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN 
 
"(2) It is agreed that while the Treasury Department will, 
in general, honor all certificates of origin issued by the 
Italian Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and 
Handicraft in accordance with these procedures" 
 
(End original text in English) 
 
(Following is informal translation of Italian original) 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs awaits receipt from the 
Government of the United States of its opinion in this 
regard, 
 
(Complimentary Close) 
 
4. On November 19, 2004, econoff met with officials from 
the MFA and the Ministry of Productive Activities (MPA) to 
discuss the Italian request to update the agreement. 
Econoff was given relevant copies of Italian legislation 
indicating the legal status of local offices of the Italian 
chambers of commerce, including their acquisition of many 
of the functions formally reserved to local offices of the 
Ministry of Industry. MPA officials told us that, following 
the closure of the local offices, the MPA's Rome staff were 
not provided sufficient resources to take over many 
functions that had been performed at the local level, 
including the issuance of certificates of origin. Though 
provincial-level Chambers of Commerce had begun to issue 
such certificates, our MPA interlocutors said some Italian 
exporters had complained that U.S. customs authorities 
occasionally refused to recognize the certificates -- hence 
the GOI's interest in updating our bilateral agreement. 
 
5. Action Request: Embassy looks forward to Department's 
response to the Italian note. Our copy of the original 
agreement, provided by the MFA, shows that it came into 
force in 1982 by means of an exchange of letters between 
Dennis O'Connell, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets 
Control, Department of the Treasury, and M. Pisani 
Massamormile, Commercial Minister, Italian Embassy to the 
U.S.  Embassy Rome would be happy to fax copies of relevant 
documents to any interested parties -- please contact 
economic officer John Finkbeiner by email at 
FinkbeinerJM@state.gov or by phone at (39)06-4674-2849. 
 
Sembler 
 
 
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	2004ROME04648 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED