Trade News

BIS: Streamlight Faces Civil Penalty for Antiboycott Violations

September 5, 2024

Bureau of Industry and Security announced a civil penalty against Streamlight (manufacturer or portable lighting products) to resolve violations of antiboycott provisions. Streamlight filed a VSD, cooperated, and implemented remedial measures. In 2019, they participated in a Bahrain trade show.…

Justice: Alexis LLC Settles with U.S. Government Over Allegations of Underpaying Customs Duties on Imported Apparel

August 27, 2024

The US is resolving a civil suit by settling with Alexis LLC, a womenswear company, for underpaying customs duties on imported apparel. This is not an admission of liability by Alexis. It resolves claims that they violated the False Claims…

Justice: Wisconsin Companies Pay Over $10 Million to Settle Whistleblower Allegations of False Claims Act Violations for Undervaluing Chinese Imports

August 27, 2024

Precision Cable Assemblies, Global Engineered Products, and their principals paid >$10 million to resolve a whistleblower suit under the False Claims Act. This is due to failure to pay duties on goods imported from China. These companies are Wisconsin corps…

Justice: Unseals Indictment Against U.S.-Iranian National for Illicit Export of Military Aircraft Components

August 20, 2024

U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging a US-Iranian national with crimes related to illicit export of US aircraft components, including components for military aircraft, to Iran. The man was arrested on Tuesday. Read More

Justice: U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy and Bribery

August 20, 2024

A US Army enlisted intelligence analyst pleaded guilty to all charges for conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense info, exporting technical data on defense articles without a license, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license, and bribery of…

BIS: Bureau of Industry and Security Settles with TE Connectivity Over Alleged Export Violations

August 16, 2024

BIS settled with TE Connectivity (both the Pennsylvania and the Hong Kong branches) for $5.8 million in civil penalty assessment. This was to resolved alleged violations of US export controls; specifically, shipments of low-level items to parties connected to Chinese…

DOJ: Department of Justice Extradites Bulgarian National Over Alleged Role in Illicit Export

August 16, 2024

DOJ extradited a Bulgarian national from Greece to Texas to face charges for his part in a scheme to illegally export US-origin radiation-hardened integrated circuits to Russia. They were transshipping them thru Bulgaria. Read More

Justice: Florida Man Sentenced for $5M Biochemical Wire Fraud Scheme

August 7, 2024

Pen Yu was sentenced in Tampa to three years, eight months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He ordered biochemical products from Millipore Sigma (subsidiary of Merck), falsely representing that he was affiliated with a Florida university’s…

CSMS: CBLE Registration Starts Next Week!

August 7, 2024

Registration for the October 2024 Customs Broker License Exam opens August 12 at 12:01am Eastern, and closes September 11 at 4:30pm Eastern. Read More

OFAC: Issues Guidance on Extended Statute of Limitations for IEEPA and TWEA Violations Under New Law

August 1, 2024

Office of Foreign Assets Control released some guidance on the extension of the statute of limitations that was signed into law on April 24, 2024. Section 3111 of the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act extended the statute of limitations…

CBP: 60 Counterfeit Hair Dryers Seizes from China Lacking Essential Safety Features

August 1, 2024

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 60 counterfeit and dangerous hair dryers from China. These hair dryers had a fraudulent UL marking, and were not equipped with the required immersion protection device (a circuit interrupter that reduces shock if the…

Justice: Iranian National Extradited for Plan to Evade US Export Restrictions

July 26, 2024

An Iranian national has been extradited to the US for his role in a years-long plan to evade US export restrictions, transshipping advanced US electronic testing tech to Iran via third-party countries. Read More