How do you build a “culture of trade compliance” in your organization? You might as well ask, “How do you eat an elephant?” In both cases, the answer is seemingly simple, yet also complex – one bite at a time. A quick search for “culture of compliance” on the internet yields thousands of scholarly and…
Chinese national Fuyi “Frank” Sun has been arrested in connection with a plot to illegally export high-grade carbon fiber from the United States to China. Sun was arrested while traveling to New York to close a deal with a distributor of the fiber which is typically used for aerospace and military purposes. Turns out the…
EAR- Don’t Forget About The De Minimis Rule One of the lesser-understood rules in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), is the de minimis rule, which determines whether foreign-made products that incorporate U.S.-controlled content are subject to the EAR. While making international trade easier and better defining the jurisdiction and classification of items, the Export Control…
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) denied export privileges for two individuals and three companies. The actions center around a conspiracy to illegally export web-monitoring and controlling equipment and software to Syria. In particular, this conspiracy involved the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (STE). “The settlement announced today results…
Recently, a South Carolina company, STREIT USA, was fined $3.5 million to settle charges related to the sale of U.S.-origin vehicles to end-users located in multiple countries. The company is part of STREIT Group, which is a global manufacturer of armored vehicles for military, security, luxury and other markets. As part of the settlement, $1.5…
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Your Business Development Manager (we’ll call him “Bob”) is at a military trade show somewhere in the Middle East. A guy from that region exchanges business cards with Bob, chats for a few minutes, then splits. A few weeks later, Bob receives an email from the gentleman, asking…
Last week, oil and gas giant Schlumberger plead guilty to facilitating trade with Iran and Sudan, in violation of U.S. sanctions. The parent company’s Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings Ltd. (SOHL), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd., agreed to a guilty plea for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by willfully…
In my last blog article, we examined the Specially Designed Decision Tool. Today, we will explore the new “Catch and Release” concept when determining if a product meets the definition of “Specially Designed.” First, here is the definition in the current ITAR. [My Notes will be in brackets, boldface, and Italics. All underlines are my…
This is the first in a series of articles called Tools of the Trade, where we will highlight some of the most useful tools and resources for export compliance professionals. Keep checking back for future installments! Classification of items (products, software, technology, etc.) is at the heart of any compliance program. Never has this been…
For all of you diligently screening your transactions against the many restricted parties lists published by the U.S. government, you are most likely aware that some items can actually be sent to some entities on the lists. The Unverified List, published by the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), was previously a…