Where Industry and Security Intersect
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WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Commerce Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement F. Amanda DeBusk today announced a $142,000 civil penalty imposed on Illinois Tool Works, Inc. of Glenview, Illinois, to settle allegations that the company illegally exported chemicals to Brazil.
The Commerce Department alleged that on seven separate occasions between March 1994 and October 1997, the Magnaflux Division of Illinois Tool Works, Inc. exported U.S.-origin chemicals to Brazil without the required Commerce Department licenses. The Department also alleged that Magnaflux made false or misleading statements on Shipper's Export Declarations in connection with these shipments.
The Commerce Department controls the export of certain U.S.-origin chemicals as part of a multilateral agreement with 30 chemical producing countries known as the Australia Group. The controlled chemicals have legitimate commercial uses but also have the potential to be used as precursors in chemical weapons.
Illinois Tool Works neither confirmed nor denied the allegations but agreed to pay the penalty, $37,000 of which was suspended as part of today's settlement. Commerce's Export Enforcement Chicago Field Office investigated the case.
The Department of Commerce, through its Bureau of Export Administration, controls and licenses exports and reexports of dual-use commodities, technology, and software for reasons of national security, foreign policy, nonproliferation and short supply. Criminal penalties, as well as administrative sanctions, can be imposed for violations of the Export Administration Regulations.
In April of 2002 the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) changed its name to the Bureau of Industry and Security(BIS). For historical purposes we have not changed the references to BXA in the legacy documents found in the Archived Press and Public Information.