California Company Settles Allegations of
Unlicensed Exports of Aluminum Rods Without Licenses

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company, acting through its Bralco Metals division (Bralco) in La Mirada, California, agreed to a civil penalty of $95,850 to settle charges that Bralco made 13 exports of aluminum alloy rods without obtaining the required licenses.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) charged that Bralco exported these aluminum rods without a license to the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. Exports of these types of aluminum alloys require a license because they can be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons.

BIS also charged that Bralco submitted Shipper’s Export Declarations that falsely represented that the shipments were eligible for export without a license.

Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Julie L. Myers commended the efforts of Special Agent Lou Van Zant of BIS’s Los Angeles field office, who conducted the investigation of this case.