The State Department fined a U.S. aerospace and technology company $13 million for illegally exporting technical data to several countries, including China, according to a May 3 order. Honeywell International sent drawings of parts for military-related items, including for engines of military jets and bombers, the agency said, all of which were controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. After discovering the violations, issuing a self-disclosure to the State Department and bolstering its compliance program, the company again illegally exported technical drawings, failing to abide by its improved compliance requirements, the order said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a California metalworking machinery company $60,000 for illegally exporting an item to the United Arab Emirates, BIS said in an April 30 order. The company, MDA Precision LLC, knowingly violated the Export Administration Regulations when it sold a $34,000 “five-axis benchtop milling machine” to the UAE without a license. BIS said the UAE customer likely intended to transfer the machine to Iran.
The United Kingdom, fresh out of the European Union, conducted its fourth round of free trade agreement negotiations virtually with New Zealand April 12-27, the U.K.'s Department for International Trade announced in an April 30 news release. An outline of the whole agreement was provisionally agreed to, including chapters on Anti-Corruption and Women in Trade, the agency said. Significant progress was also made on the Disputes, Rules of Origin, Goods, Labor and Telecommunications, Digital, Consumer Protection and Environment provisions of the agreement.
San Diego-based tungsten products manufacturer Tungsten Heavy Powder settled a False Claims Act allegation for $5.6 million for false origin claim, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California said in an April 29 news release. The producer was accused of falsely certifying that it sourced materials from the U.S. for items made under contract with the government of Israel, funded by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agreement Agency. The U.S. accused THP of falsely declaring that its Chinese-origin tungsten from China was from the U.S. The U.S. also alleged THP falsely certified that manufacturing occurred in the U.S., when it instead produced its products via a contract with a Mexican maquiladora factory.
A free trade agreement between Serbia and the Eurasian Economic Union has been ratified and is expected to take effect in June, KPMG said in an April 27 post. The deal will provide preferential tariff quotas for certain types of cheese, alcohol and cigarettes, and liberalize certain Serbian imports of EAEU products, including “taps and valves for pipelines.” The agreement will also revise rules of origin procedures to allow certain customs duty exemptions to apply when trade intermediaries are involved. EAEU countries are Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a U.S. thermal imaging camera producer more than $300,000 after it violated the Export Administration Regulations by providing false and incomplete statements in support of a commodity jurisdiction (CJ) request (see 2103040065). The company, FLIR Systems, sought a determination that one of its newly developed products was subject to the EAR rather than the State Department’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations and withheld information in order to support that determination, BIS said. Along with the fine, FLIR agreed to conduct two BIS-monitored internal audits and won’t be granted export licenses until the audits are completed and the fine is paid, BIS said in an April 29 notice.
Shuren Qin, a Chinese national living in Wellesley, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to illegally causing the export of more than $100,000 worth of U.S.-origin goods to Chinese military university Northwestern Polytechnical University, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced in an April 28 news release. Qin pleaded guilty to a litany of charges including conspiracy to unlawfully export items without an export license, visa fraud, money laundering and smuggling hydrophones from the U.S. to China, the Justice Department said. The illegally exported goods consisted of technology with underwater and marine applications to allegedly be used for NWPU's development of unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and missile proliferation projects, Justice said. To import the goods, Qin created LinkOcean Technologies, subsequently sending the goods to China from the U.S., Canada and Europe.
The European Union extended restrictive measures on individuals and entities in Myanmar until April 30, 2022, the European Council announced in an April 29 news release. The sanctions were originally enacted in response to a military coup in the Southeast Asian nation and subsequent violence against peaceful protesters along with human rights atrocities committed against the Rohingya population and other ethnic minorities. Covering individuals and entities associated with the Myanmar Armed Forces, the restrictions include an arms embargo, export ban on dual-use goods for use by the military, and export restrictions on communications-monitoring equipment.
A German software company agreed to pay more than $8 million in fines after it admitted to violating U.S. export controls and sanctions against Iran, the Justice, Treasury and Commerce departments announced April 29. The company, SAP SE, came to settlement agreements with all three agencies after it voluntarily disclosed the violations, which included illegal exports and reexports of U.S.-origin software.
Semiconductor industry officials are preparing to push for export control modernization over certain electronics on the Commerce Control List, which they say will help controls avoid unintended consequences on U.S. companies and more accurately reflect national security concerns. The effort, led by the Semiconductor Industry Association, will look to convince the Bureau of Industry and Security to update certain control parameters and definitions, and make technical changes in Category 3 of the CCL, which officials view as out of date.