Yarde Metals Agrees to Settle Charges of Unauthorized Export to an Indian Organization of Concern

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that Yarde Metals (Yarde) of Happauge, New York, has agreed to pay a $10,000 civil penalty to settle charges that it violated the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) in connection with the unlicensed export of an aluminum plate to an organization in India on BIS’s Entity List.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) charged that on or about May 5, 2003, Yarde engaged in conduct prohibited by the EAR when it exported an aluminum plate from the United States to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) in India without the required license. At the time of the export, VSSC, a sub-entity of the Indian Space Research Organization, was on the Entity List due to missile proliferation concerns.

The Entity List is a compilation of end users that have been determined to present an unacceptable risk of diversion to developing weapons of mass destruction or missiles used to deliver these weapons. Exports to those appearing on the Entity List require Commerce licenses. BIS maintains the Entity List to inform the public of the export license requirements related to these entities. BIS enforces export requirements under the Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative to ensure that U.S.-origin goods are not diverted to developing missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. This case underscores the responsibility placed on U.S. exporters to ensure their potential foreign customers are not involved in proliferation activities.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Wendy L. Wysong commended the Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office for its work in this investigation.