The Export Practitioner
Volume 35, Number 11
Since 1987, The Export Practitioner has provided readers with expert reports on changes to U.S. export licensing rules, enforcement policies and regulations for defense and dual-use products and technology. The Export Practitioner is the only monthly magazine devoted exclusively to news and analysis of U.S. export controls and trade sanctions.
The Export Practitioner is available in both online or print editions or a print-and-online combination.
Learn moreBIS Implements Wassenaar Cyber Intrusion Controls
Feature
After eight years of industry comments and agency pushback, the Bureau of Industry and Security Oct. 20, 2021, finally implemented changes to controversial cyber intrusion software controls that Wassenaar Arrangement members agreed to at their December 2017 plenary.
Read more
PDF Archive
Search Past Issues
Exporting From Europe By David Hayes
Resources
Links
Calif. Firm Settles BIS Export Charges
Lesson 32: Don't lie to federal export agencies. VTA Telecom Corporation (VTA) in Milpitas, Calif., a subsidiary of a Vietnamese state-owned telecom company, agreed Oct. 12, 2021, to pay the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) a $1,869,372 civil penalty to settle six charges of violating export...
Credit Suisse Pays $475 Million for Mozambique Bond Scheme
Swiss firm Credit Suisse Group AG (CSAG) agreed Oct. 19, 2021, to pay $475 million to U.S. and United Kingdom (UK) authorities, including nearly $100 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other charges in a scheme...
Executive Admits to Exporting Computer Equipment to Pakistan
A Chicago business owner pleaded guilty to charges of illegally exporting computer equipment to blocked entity Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) without the required Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) licenses from 2006 to 2015.
Obaidullah Syed, owner of Pakistan-based Business...
Fla. Diving Company Owner Convicted for Libya Exports
Peter Sotis of Delray Beach, Fla., the owner and principal of Add Helium LLC, and Emilie Voissem of Sunrise were convicted Oct. 21, 2021, in Miami U.S. District Court after a six-day trial on charges of exporting dual-use goods, including four rebreathers, to Libya without the required Commerce...
Former Braskem CEO Sent to Prison on FCPA Charges
Jose Carlos Grubisich, the former CEO of Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem S.A., was sentenced Oct. 12, 2021, in Brooklyn U.S. District Court to 20 months in prison and a $1 million fine for conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
He pleaded guilty in April (see...
Iranian National Sentenced in Electrical Export Scheme
An Iranian national living in Canada was sentenced Oct. 14, 2021, in Detroit U.S. District Court to time served and deported for his role in a conspiracy to export nine electrical discharge boards, a CPU board, two servo motors, and two railroad crankshafts to Iran via the United Arab Emirates...
Maduro Associate Extradited for Laundering Scheme
Alex Nain Saab Moran (Saab), a Colombian national and associate of Venezuelan President Maduro, was extradited Oct. 17, 2021, from Cabo Verde to face charges in Miami U.S. District Court for his alleged role in laundering the proceeds of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations in...
BIS Finalizes Controls on Emerging Biotech Software
In one of the first controls on emerging technology, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Oct. 5, 2021, finalized controls on "software" for the operation of nucleic acid assemblers and synthesizers controlled under Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) 2B352 that "is capable of...
BIS Requests Comments on Brain-Computer Interface
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) started chipping away at the task of identifying potential emerging technologies. In the Federal Register Oct. 26, 2021, the agency requested comments on the potential uses of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology and whether export controls on this...
Export Regulations Reflect Previous Policy Changes
In the Federal Register Oct. 5, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) made "targeted editorial corrections and clarifications" to its Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The updates reflect more than 15 years of previous edits and changes to its regulations, in addition to the move...
New FAQ Clarifies BIS Foreign Direct Product Rule
In a new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) published Oct. 28, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) clarified a tangible example of the Foreign-Produced Direct Product (FDP) Rule, whether a company may export a non-U.S. product to a designated entity without confirmation that a license...
Stronger Controls Proposed for Certain Coating Technology
Based on ten years of department review of coating technology, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Oct. 22, 2021, proposed changes to "clarify and expand restrictions on the availability" of License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA). Comments are due Dec. 6.
Specifically, the...
Treasury Review Targets Sanctions Impact, Evasion
As promised from the first days of the administration, Treasury Oct. 19, 2021, released its "top to bottom" review of U.S. economic and financial sanctions. Facing a combative Congress and ever-changing threats in cyberspace and crypto currency, department officials outlined the administration's...
BIS Nominee Commits to Aggressive Enforcement
At a shared 90-minute Senate Banking Committee hearing Oct. 7, 2021, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) assistant secretary for export enforcement nominee Matthew Axelrod, a former Justice official, answered just two questions: one on how his experience will inform his potential new job and...
Commerce Will Need to Focus on Enforcement, IG Says
One of Commerce's top management and performance challenges in fiscal year (FY) 2022 is enforcing trade agreements and export controls, putting a spotlight on the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) resources, according to the department Inspector General's report (OIG-22-001) published Oct....
Congress Passes Bill That Bans Huawei from Networks
By unanimous consent, the Senate Oct. 28, 2021, passed Secure Equipment Act of 2021 (S. 1790/H.R. 3919), a bill that would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to clarify that it will no longer review or issue new equipment licenses to companies that pose a national security threat....
Ex-Im Bank Nominee Will Juggle Multiple Priorities
At her Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing Oct. 26, 2021, Reta Jo Lewis, who was nominated to be Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank president, defended the bank's policies, explained how it must compete against China and other foreign export credit agencies, and committed to ongoing outreach...
Justice Strengthens Policies on Individual Conduct, Monitors
In policies that will directly impact prosecutions on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), export controls and sanctions, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco Oct. 28, 2021, returned to the policies of the previous Democratic administration, rescinding or updating guidance on individual...
Trading Partners End Export Support for Coal Power Projects
What a difference seven years makes. Under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 11 Participants to the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credit, including the U.S., agreed Oct. 22, 2021, to end support for unabated coal-fired plants in the...
END NOTES
ETHIOPIA : As promised, DDTC Nov. 1 published rule amending International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) § 126.1 to codify export policy for Ethiopia and Eritrea. "The policy of denial applies to licenses or other approvals for exports of defense articles or defense services to or for the...