Justice, ICE, & Others Launch National Initiative to Combat Illegal Exports of U.S. Military and Dual-Use Items
The Justice Department has issued a press release announcing that it, along with several partner agencies, launched a national initiative on October 11, 2007 to enhance the Bush Administration's counter-proliferation program by, among other things, creating counter-proliferation task forces and vigorously pursuing and prosecuting individuals who violate U.S. laws and allow U.S. technology to be illegally exported.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The technology at the center of this initiative includes restricted U.S. military items, dual-use equipment, and other technical expertise or know-how, some of which have applications in Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
(The export enforcement initiative was announced by the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Justice Department; Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Assistant Director, FBI Counterintelligence Division; Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement; Director of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs.)
China and Iran Pose Particular U.S. Export Control Concerns
China and Iran pose particular U.S. export control concerns as the majority of U.S. criminal export prosecutions in recent years have involved restricted U.S. technology bound for these nations. Recent prosecutions have highlighted illegal exports of stealth missile technology, military aircraft components, naval warship data, night vision equipment, and other restricted technology destined for China or Iran.
New Counter-Proliferation Task Forces and Training
Under this new initiative, Counter-Proliferation Task Forces will be formed in certain U.S. Attorney's offices around the country. These multi-agency task forces will take many of the concepts used in combating terrorism - namely, prevention, cooperation and coordination - and apply them to the counter-proliferation effort. The task forces will be designed to enhance cooperation among all agencies involved in export control, forge relationships with affected industries, and facilitate information sharing to prevent illegal foreign acquisition of U.S. technology.
The Department's National Security Division is in discussions with districts with large concentrations of high-tech businesses and research facilities - all of which are potential targets for illegal foreign acquisition efforts - as potential venues for new task forces.
The new initiative also includes key training components. Under the initiative, the Department will provide specialized training to its field prosecutors, especially those with limited expertise in export control.
(The Justice Department launched this enhanced training effort in May with a national conference in South Carolina, and has also appointed its first National Export Control Coordinator to implement this initiative and foster coordination among the agencies involved in export control.)
Improved Coordination with Export Licensing Agencies
A final component of the initiative involves greater coordination between the Justice Department and the export licensing agencies, particularly the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).
As part of the initiative, the Justice Department's National Security Division has initiated monthly meetings with the leadership of these offices to ensure that investigations, prosecutions and enforcement issues are fully coordinated.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 10/18/07 news, 07101899 7, for BP summary of the Justice Dept posting a fact sheet providing a snapshot of some of the major export-related criminal cases and prosecutions in the past year.)
Justice Dept press release (dated 10/11/07) available at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2007/October/07_nsd_806.html
Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth L. Wainstein announcement of this new program (dated 10/11/07) available at http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2007/ag_speech_071011.html