Here’s one for all the Human Resources professionals out there. The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (the “OSC”) has issued a response to a request for guidance regarding complying with antidiscrimination laws (specifically under the Immigration and Nationality Act, or “INA”) when verifying employees’ citizenship status under…
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…
The revision of USML Category XII was first published as a proposed rule on May 5, 2015, for public comment. The number of public comments received caused the Department of State to reevaluate the original proposed rule change and to draft a new proposed rule change (published February 19, 2016). This second proposed rule change…
Let’s assume that you’re traveling internationally with your ITAR-controlled product and you have a valid DSP-73 license in place. (If I’ve already lost you with that sentence, then please skip the rest of this article and schedule a no-charge consultation with us today.) Rather than shipping the item to your destination, it makes more sense…
Beginning Thursday, November 26, 2015 (Thanksgiving Day), DTrade users must use new versions of all license application forms, as well as the DS-2032 registration form. These forms are to comply with an updated version of DTrade. The new forms cover all DDTC license applications, including: The new forms also include: Earlier versions of these forms…
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…
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…
Earlier this month, Esterline Technologies Corporation agreed to pay a $20 million civil penalty for alleged violations of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). According to the State Department’s charging letter, these violations span a number of years, and cover various subsidiaries and departments within the company. Although the charges against the company are…