When shipping defense articles or dual-use items overseas, it is important to identify the actual end-user.   This task cannot simply be outsourced to a freight forwarder.  The burden is on the exporter to make sure their exports are not used by an unauthorized end-user.

The US government maintains various lists of restricted individuals and organizations, such as the Denied Persons List, Entity List and ITAR Debarred List (to name just a few).

The entities on these lists have been identified for a reason and so exporting — or even attempting to export – to a listed entity can put your company in legal jeopardy.

For example, in 2014, a California electronics manufacturer was fined $10 million for various export control violations that included shipping components to entities on a State Department watch list.

More recently, a New York company was fined $155,000 for three separate exports to certain Russian and Chinese research and academic organizations that were on the EAR’s Entity List.

To ensure that your company does not make such a costly mistake, it is necessary to both verify the intended end-users of all exports and to check all foreign customers against the consolidated screening list prior to shipping products outside the US.