A California-based digital interface design company said in its initial public offering this month that it may have violated U.S. sanctions.
Companies should expect the Bureau of Industry and Security to continue a steady pace of penalties against export violators, particularly for cases involving semiconductors and other advanced technologies, said Gregory Dunlap, the former special agent in charge of the agency’s Los Angeles field office. And if Congress grants the agency’s request for more funding, Dunlap said, BIS could soon have the resources to more quickly carry out investigations and probe a greater number of exporters.
The U.S. and its allies should consider using additional sanctions to force Iran back to the negotiating table over its nuclear weapons program, although more sanctions also risk pushing Iran to cooperate even more closely with China, Russia and North Korea, a former Pentagon official said last week.
The U.S. should take several steps to reduce red tape and streamline arms sales and technology transfers to close trading partners, including more frequently reviewing the jurisdiction of export-controlled items and combining reviews of weapons requests from allies, researchers said in a new report.
The State Department is revising the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to align with recent U.N. Security Council decisions involving the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Sudan. The agency’s final rule, effective July 7, also updates the list of NATO members and major non-NATO allies and makes other corrections and clarifications to the ITAR.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week rescinded China-related export restrictions on multiple electronic design automation companies and a gas and oil pipeline company, a move that came less than a month after Washington and Beijing reached an agreement to rein in their respective export curbs.
Key Holding, a Delaware-based logistics company, was fined $608,825 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control to settle allegations that it violated U.S. sanctions on Cuba. OFAC said the company’s Colombian subsidiary illegally managed the logistics for 36 freight shipments from Colombia to Cuba.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a California semiconductor developer and supplier $4.25 million for violating U.S. export controls against Huawei, saying it illegally forwarded more than 1,500 power controllers, smart power stages and related accessories to the Chinese company without a license.
Companies could see a significant uptick in compliance responsibilities if the Bureau of Industry and Security follows through with a possible 50% rule for parties on the Entity List, although it’s unclear when exactly such a rule could take effect, former BIS officials said this week.
Chinese surveillance technology company Hikvision must close its businesses in Canada and stop all operations in the country after a foreign investment review by Canadian authorities.