BIS Fines Defense Companies for Violating Anitboycott Regs

The Bureau of Industry and Security last week fined two defense companies close to $100,000 combined to resolve their violations of the agency’s antiboycott regulations. The agency fined Arizona-based defense weapons systems manufacturer Profense $48,500 and Washington-based defense contractor B.E. Meyers & Co. $44,750 after they complied with requests from freight forwarders to certify that their goods weren’t Israeli origin.

BIS said the violations stemmed from a trade show in Bahrain that both companies attended in 2019. In order to showcase their products at the show, both Profense and B.E. Meyers “furnished to its freight forwarder a commercial invoice/packing list certifying that the goods were not of Israeli origin and not manufactured by a company” on an Israeli boycott blacklist, the agency said. BIS also said both firms failed to report to the agency the “receipt of the request to furnish such information,” which is required by the Export Administration Regulations.

As part of a settlement agreement with BIS, both companies admitted to three violations of the EAR’s antiboycott regulations. The agency said both companies voluntarily self-disclosed the violations, cooperated with BIS’ investigation and took “remedial action after discovering the conduct at issue, which resulted in a significant reduction in penalty.”

Profense and B.E. Meyers didn’t respond to requests for comment.