Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Oct. 19-23 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Iran Export Controls
Certain items on the Commerce Control List require a license from BIS to export them to Iran. The Iranian Transactions Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) (31 CFR Part 560) also prohibit the export and reexport of goods to Iran subject to EAR.
Berkshire Hathaway will pay $4.1 million after its subsidiary illegally exported more than 140 shipments of cutting tools to Iran, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in an Oct. 20 notice. Iscar Kesici Takim Ticareti ve Imalati Limited Sirket (Iscar Turkey), Berkshire’s Turkish subsidiary, hid the exports from its parent company, which resulted in more than $350,000 worth of orders going to Iranian end-users. Along with the fine, Berkshire committed to a range of sanctions compliance procedures in a settlement agreement with OFAC and will annually certify for the next five years that it is meeting its compliance obligations.
If elected, Joe Biden will likely continue the U.S.’s strict export control and sanctions policy against China, Venezuela and Russia but may reverse U.S. sanctions against Iran, said Johann Strauss, a trade lawyer with Akin Gump. Biden would also approach trade restrictions more multilaterally as opposed to Trump’s tendency to pursue unilateral restrictions, Strauss said.
The administration should increase export controls and sanctions pressure on China, place more scrutiny on Chinese foreign direct investment and push for the modernization of multilateral export regimes, the House’s Republican-led China Task Force said in a Sept. 30 report. It urged the administration to act quickly, saying China and other U.S. “adversaries” are flouting international export control laws and undermining U.S. technology industries.
Two Iranian men were charged in a conspiracy to illegally export computer servers to Iran, the Justice Department said Sept. 28. Ebrahim Azadegan and Alireza Alvandi were charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations when they allegedly tried to ship the servers without licenses. The servers are classified as dual-use goods under the Commerce Control List and are export controlled for anti-terrorism and national security reasons.
A California electronics company was fined about $475,000 after its former Finnish subsidiary illegally exported test measurement equipment to Iran, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Sept. 24. After Keysight Technologies acquired Anite Finland Oy in 2015, Anite continued to illegally supply equipment to Iranian end-users, hiding the transactions from Keysight, OFAC said. In a settlement agreement, Keysight agreed to implement improved compliance procedures and an annual audit of its compliance program for the next five years.
The U.S. announced a range of new sanctions and restrictions against Iran, including an executive order, additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List (see 2009210018) and new sanctions by the Treasury and State Department. The executive order, issued Sept. 21, targets Iran-related arms transfers, while the Treasury and State Department’s sanctions target a range of people and entities associated with Iranian nuclear and arms development.
The U.S. seized two websites run by a U.S.-sanctioned foreign terrorist organization, the Justice Department said Sept. 2. The websites, Aletejahtv.com and Aletejahtv.org, belonged to Kata’ib Hizballah, “an Iran-backed terrorist group active in Iraq,” which the Office of Foreign Assets Control listed in 2009 as a Specially Designated National. The group used the websites to publish videos and articles designed to “further Kata’ib Hizballah’s agenda,” the Justice Department said. P. Lee Smith, a top official within the Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Export Enforcement, said the group was using U.S.-based online networks “to promote Iran backed terrorist propaganda.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued an order temporarily denying export privileges for three Indonesian companies and three people for illegally exporting U.S. aircraft parts to Iran’s Mahan Air. In an Aug. 20 press release, BIS said the companies operate an “international procurement scheme” for the sanctioned Iranian airline and will be barred from exporting or receiving U.S.-origin goods for 180 days. The suspension may be renewed.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two United Arab Emirates-based companies and a business owner for supporting sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air, an Aug. 19 news release said. The designations target Parthia Cargo, Delta Parts Supply FZC and Iranian national Amin Mahdavi, who owns Parthia Cargo. OFAC said the companies provided “key parts and logistics services” that help Mahan Air sustain its fleet of “western manufactured aircraft.” The parts and services also help the airline transport terrorists, “lethal cargo” and technical equipment to Syria and Venezuela.