Where Industry and Security Intersect
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | BUREAU OF INDUSTRY AND SECURITY |
| Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 |
Office of Public Affairs |
| www.bis.doc.gov | 202-482-2721 |
WASHINGTON - The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today announced that TW Metals, Inc. of Exton, Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay a $575,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it violated the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) related to the export of titanium alloy and aluminum bar to China and Israel without the required export licenses.
BIS alleged that between April 2004 and August 2007, TW Metals made 48 exports of titanium alloy, controlled for reasons of nonproliferation, through Canada to the People's Republic of China without the required Department of Commerce licenses. Additionally, TW Metals engaged in conduct prohibited by the EAR in July 2007 by exporting aluminum bar, also controlled for reasons of nuclear nonproliferation, through Canada to Israel without the required Department of Commerce license.
"TW Metals voluntarily disclosed the violations and cooperated fully in the investigation,” said Don Salo, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement. “A voluntary self-disclosure is a significant mitigating factor when we consider administrative settlements,” he added.
"I applaud TW Metals for coming forward to report these violations," said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement David W. Mills, "and I commend the Special Agents from our New York Field Office for their work on this investigation.”
BACKGROUND
BIS controls exports and reexports of dual-use commodities, technology, and software for reasons of national security, missile technology, nuclear non-proliferation, chemical and biological weapons non-proliferation, crime control, regional stability, foreign policy and anti-terrorism. Criminal penalties and administrative sanctions can be imposed for violations of the EAR. For more information, please visit www.bis.doc.gov.
Parties who may have been involved in violations of the EAR are encouraged to submit a Voluntary Self Disclosure (VSD) to the BIS Office of Export Enforcement. VSDs are an important indicator of parties’ intent to comply with the EAR, and may provide BIS important information on illicit proliferation networks. A VSD is considered a “great weight” mitigating factor in the settlement of BIS administrative cases.
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