Defense firm RTX Corp. will pay $200 million to settle alleged violations of U.S. defense export controls, the largest standalone export penalty ever issued by the State Department. RTX voluntarily disclosed the 750 violations, the agency said in a charging letter, most of which involved “historical” issues by an aerospace firm acquired by RTX in 2018.
ITAR Compliance
People and entities exporting items subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) may face penalties, including fines and prison time, for violating license requirements and other rules outlined in the ITAR. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is responsible for ensuring compliance with the ITAR and encourages exporters of military goods and technologies to maintain compliance programs.
The Pentagon should drop its outdated approach to technology security and export controls and allow American defense companies to work more efficiently with U.S. allies, a Defense Department advisory committee said in a new report this month. The committee said the agency needs major revisions to the way it treats restrictions under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, warning that DOD is “failing to address shortcomings in international engagement amid a rapidly evolving global security landscape.”
The State Department fined Boeing $51 million after the company allegedly violated a range of U.S. export controls, including license requirements for exports to China and Russia. The violations, which Boeing voluntarily disclosed, included illegal exports to foreign employees and contractors working in more than 15 countries; a trade compliance specialist fabricating an export license to illegally ship defense items abroad; and violations of the terms and conditions of other export licenses, among other things.
Electronics distribution company Broad Tech System and its president and owner, Tao Jiang of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty Jan. 11 to participating in a conspiracy to illegally ship chemicals made or distributed by a Rhode Island-based company to a Chinese firm with ties to the Chinese military, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island announced. Jiang and Broad Tech admitted to violating the Export Control Act and conspiring to commit money laundering.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is drafting at least two rules to make “targeted revisions” to the U.S. Munitions List and is preparing to soon propose changes to its registration fees, said Timothy Betts, DDTC’s acting deputy assistant secretary. Betts also said the State Department is looking to hire a DDTC-dedicated attorney adviser and stressed the importance of defense companies having compliance buy-in from upper management.
The Commerce, State and Justice departments fined an American 3D printing company more than $25 million combined after it committed a range of export violations, including illegal shipments of aerospace technology and metal alloy powder to China and controlled design documents to Germany.
The State Department is “finalizing” discussions with several trading partners on its new open general license concept for certain defense exports, senior agency official Mike Miller. The concept, which could begin as a pilot program, would allow U.S. exports to certain U.S. trading partners without having to apply for a specific license (see 2109290056).
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 Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued a Jan. 23 guidance on the final rules for the transfer of gun export controls from the State Department to the Commerce Department, including a clarification on license submissions during the transition period. The guidance also clarifies how the rules and transition period affect technical assistance agreements, manufacturing license agreements, reporting requirements, commodity jurisdiction determinations and regulatory oversight responsibilities. The rules -- which were published Jan. 23 and transfer export control authority from the State Department to Commerce for a range of firearms, ammunition and other defense items -- will take effect March 9 (see 2001170030).
Plans to reorganize International Traffic in Arms Regulations are ongoing despite what has been a lengthy legal review of the draft rules, a Directorate of Defense Trade Controls official said while speaking July 9 at the Bureau of Industry and Security annual export controls conference. Through a "series of rules we are trying to make the content of the ITAR more linear and more discernable," said Rob Hart, regulatory and multilateral affairs division chief in the Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy.