Archive for the ‘France’ Category

$100,000 Penalty for 14 Violations Committed by Meritor of Troy

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 by Anna Barone

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has recently announced that Meritor of Troy, MI has committed 14 violations of the Export Administration Regulations. They have agreed to pay a $100,000 civil fine to settle allegations. The company recognized their own offenses, disclosed the violations and fully cooperated with the investigation of the Office of Export Enforcement.

Between August 2005 and November 2006 there were two instances in which Meritor shipped products, that were controlled for national security reasons, to China and France. Also, between December 2005 and May 2006 there were twelve instances in which the company exported technical data, that was controlled for national security reasons, to Italy, India, China, Mexico, South Korea and Brazil.

Meritor is a global leader in providing innovative drivetrain mobility and braking solutions for original equipment manufacturers of trucks, trailers and specialty vehicles, as well as the related aftermarkets in the transportation and industrial sectors.  They celebrated a centennial anniversary in 2009.

More Information Available:

http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2011/bis_press03222011.htm

Posted in BIS, China, France, India, USA Regulations, USA Regulations, Violations & Fines | No Comments »

Study Points at ITAR as Hurting US Defense Industry’s Competitiveness

Thursday, October 15th, 2009 by Danielle McClellan

A recent study was published in the book “Fortresses & Icebergs: The Evolution of the Transatlantic Defense Market and the Implications for U.S. National Security Policy” outlining the decline of US defense firms market position in Europe. The study was funded by the Department of Defense and Johns Hopkins in order to get a feel for the transatlantic defense market. The US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania and Sweden were all examined for market obstacles and restrictions, especially the ITAR in the US.

The book, written by Bialos, Christine Fisher and Stuart Koehl dives into the current state of the defense market and takes the reader through the present and future of the international industry and explains what the US needs to do to keep from drowning. “Fortresses & Icebergs” describes the negative trend that US firms are facing in Europe, increased cooperative buying among European nations and an ITAR backlash are turning the market upside down. In the past European nations bought nearly all of their defense article from the US but the recent study shows that more and more international companies are purchasing their defense articles outside the US. The study also confirmed that the number US firms buying from European firms is growing. This may be because of the Obama Administrations’ need to procure defense articles based on affordability and competition with the dwindling defense budget, a very positive sign for European companies wanting to compete in the US market. (more…)

Posted in DDTC, France, Germany, ITAR, UK | Comments Off

Ebara Violation Part Deux: $500,000 Fine and Probation Falls Short of Initial $6.4 Million Penalty

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 by Danielle McClellan

French corporation, Cryostar France pleads guilty to conspiracy, illegal export, and attempted illegal export of Cryogenic Submersible Pumps to Iran. Cryostar has several businesses worldwide where they specialize in the design and manufacturing of cryogenic equipment. They were sentenced in the US to a criminal fine of $500,000 and corporate probation of two years.

Cyrostar was a middleman between Ebara International Corp., Inc. and “TN” a French company with a US subsidiary. Cryostar was to purchase the pumps from Ebara and then resell them to “TN” who would then forward the pumps to Iran. Cryostar falsely indicated that the final purchaser was the French company “TN” who would install the pumps in France, when all parties were in agreement that the pumps would go to Iran. The three companies created false purchase orders, and purchased as many component parts from non-US suppliers as possible to avoid any and all questions from US suppliers and to conceal their conduct. No export licenses were ever obtained for any of the items.

In 2004 penalties were imposed on Ebara and its former CEO Everett Hylton. At that time Ebara pled guilty to criminal violations and agreed to an administrative settlement, with combined fines of over $6.4 million dollars while Hylton agreed to personally pay $109,000. Ebara and Hylton’s schemed together to violate the embargo on Iran after some people in Ebara initially stopped an Ebara sale to Iran. Ebara falsified some documents and removed “made by Ebara” markings from certain items to evade US restrictions on Iran.

More information:

Posted in BIS, DOJ, Export License, France, Iran, Violations & Fines | Comments Off