BIS fines US manufacturer for violating anti-boycott provisions against Israel
A US manufacturer who certified that goods sent for an Abu Dhabi exhibition were not made in Israel has been fined $44,750 by the US Bureau of Industry and Security (‘BIS’) for violating the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (‘EAR’)’
Pennsylvania-based Forta LLC, which manufactures synthetic reinforcement fibres, agreed to the fine ‘to resolve three violations of the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR, 15 C.F.R. parts 730-774) (antiboycott regulations), as alleged in BIS’s Proposed Charging Letter (PCL),’ said BIS, 3 November.
‘Forta voluntarily disclosed the conduct to BIS, cooperated with the investigation by BIS’s Office of Antiboycott Compliance (OAC), and took remedial measures after discovering the conduct at issue, all of which resulted in a significant reduction in penalty’, it added.
According to the charging letter: ‘Specifically, Forta participated in a trade show in Abu Dhabi in 2019. In connection with the shipment of products and items for display at the trade show, the company furnished to its freight forwarder a commercial invoice/packing list certifying that the goods were not of Israeli origin and not manufactured by a company on the “Israeli Boycott Blacklist.” Furnishing such information is prohibited by Section 760.2(d) of the EAR. In addition, the company failed to report to BIS the receipt of the request to furnish this information as required by Section 760.5 of the EAR.’
