Finding the Perfect Export Enforcement Case (Part 1)
Are you looking for the PERFECT export enforcement case to highlight in your export control training? You know…the export violation that demonstrates U.S. export controls regulations really do touch your industry, your research field, your size company, and your personnel. It’s not just about the one individual who willfully did the wrong thing. OFAC violations, ITAR violations, and EAR violations inadvertently occur at organizations of all sizes. (Of course, the really big ones like ZTE and Huawei are always interesting to discuss, too.) And it’s not just about any single set of export controls regulations. EAR compliance, ITAR compliance, and OFAC compliance all matter.
Well, we’ve done the homework for you and have consolidated an organized list of export enforcement cases (or near misses and/or dropped charges) that you can pull from. Now you can more easily paint that picture you’ve been aiming to create in your export control compliance training.
In some cases, charges have been filed. In other cases, export penalties have been imposed as part of a settlement, or the case was dropped due to changing export regulations. The export violation (or suspected violation) also ranges from exporting an EAR99 item to a Restricted Party to exporting an item controlled under a specific ECCN classification. Sometimes the wrong export classification was used. In all cases, the proper authorization (e.g., export license from BIS) was not obtained in advance, leading to export penalties or charges that may lead to export fines.
Telecommunications
Huawei (Interesting read: Huawei’s export control compliance statement)
Electronics
Johnny Paul Tourino – computer servers
Aeroflex / Metelics / Cobham Holdings – switch limiters
Multiwire Laboratories – camera detectors to university on BIS Entity List
Yi-Chi Shih and Kiet Ahn Mai – monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs)
Intersil Corporation – circuits
Advanced Materials and Chemicals
Fuyi Sun – carbon Fiber
Richard Phillips – carbon Fiber
Ming Suan Zhang – carbon Fiber
Global Metallurgy, LLC – specialty metals
Cerac Inc. – specialty inorganic materials
Chemguard, Inc. – anti-boycott regulations
University
Dr. Thomas Butler (Texas Tech University) – highlighted in the BIS Don’t Let This Happen to You
Professor Reese Roth – plasma technology for UAV (drone)
University of Massachusetts Lowell – antenna and cables
University Professor – dropped case
Medical, Healthcare, and Bioscience
Medical researcher – dropped case about MRI coil
Dentsply Sirona Inc. – dental equipment and supplies
Alcon Laboratories / Pharmaceuticals – surgical and pharmaceutical products
United Medical Instruments Inc. – medical imaging equipment
HyperBranch Medical Technology
GE Bioscience (Wave Biotech, LLC) – bioreactor kits
Analytical Equipment
Muhammad Ismail and Kamran Kahn – spectrometer (and film for composite fabrication)
Federal Express – electron microscope components
Other Equipment
Hetran Inc. – horizontal lathe
Sihai Cheng – pressure transducers
See Kee Chin – accelerometer
Qiang Hu (MKS Instruments, Inc.) – pressure transducers
Emerging Technologies: Drones, UAVs, and 3D Printing
Hui Sheng Shen and Huan Ling Chang – drones
Cody Wilson – 3D Printing
Many of the above export enforcement cases involve unintentional violations. These costly penalties could have been avoided with a careful export license determination – followed by the proper export license application. Watch out for Part 2 in a future blog where we’ll cover more industries, including Oil and Gas, Aerospace, Space, and Aviation.
Not sure how to craft a compelling message in your export compliance training? We can help develop customized export compliance training. Contact us here.
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Traliance provides export compliance consulting services to help research universities and technology companies comply with U.S export controls regulations.
