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(WASHINGTON) --The Commerce Department has imposed a $14,000 civil penalty on a Houston company for alleged violations of the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations, John Despres, assistant secretary for Export Enforcement, announced today.
Rezayat America, Inc., located in Houston, Texas, procures oil and energy supplies for resale. The Department alleged that on one occasion in September 1993, Rezayat required another U.S. company to refuse to do business with blacklisted suppliers in response to a request from Saudi Arabia. The Department further alleged that, in the same transaction with Saudi Arabia, Rezayat agreed to furnish information about other companies' blacklist status and information about its business relationship with those companies. Also, the Department alleged that Rezayat failed on two occasions in 1993 to report its receipt of boycott-related requests from Saudi Arabia.
While neither admitting nor denying the allegations, the company agreed to pay the civil penalties.
The antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Act and Regulations apply to foreign boycotts fostered or imposed against a country which is friendly to the United States and which is not itself the object of any form of boycott under United States law or regulation.
U.S. companies and individuals are required to report to the Department each boycott-related request they receive.
The antiboycott provisions prohibit U.S. individuals and companies from refusing, agreeing to refuse or requiring other persons to refuse to do business with or in a boycotted country, with any national or resident of a boycotted country or with any other person pursuant to an agreement with, a requirement of, or a request from or on behalf of a boycotting country.
The antiboycott provisions also prohibit U. S. companies and individuals from furnishing information about any person's business relationships with or in a boycotted country or with companies known or believed to be restricted from doing business with or in one or more of the countries that participate in the Arab boycott of Israel.
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.