New BIS List Names Companies Making Boycott Requests

A new list published last week by the Bureau of Industry and Security names more than 150 entities that have asked companies to boycott goods from certain countries. BIS hopes the list helps “raise awareness” among companies, financial institutions, freight forwarders and others about where boycott requests may come from, allowing them to better comply with the agency’s anti-boycott regulations, said Matthew Axelrod, the BIS assistant secretary for export enforcement.

U.S. businesses must report to the agency’s Office of Antiboycott Compliance each time they receive a boycott request and -- as part of a change made in July -- the name of the company that made the request (see 2307260059). BIS said each listed company has recently been reported to the agency.

The list includes oil, technology, logistics, manufacturing and industrial companies in a host of countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Japan and Turkey. The agency said the list isn’t “exhaustive” and will be updated quarterly.

“U.S. persons are encouraged to diligently review transaction documents from all sources, but especially transaction documents with or involving these listed parties -- given that they’ve been identified by others as a source of boycott requests -- to identify possible boycott-related language and to determine whether U.S. persons have a reporting requirement” under the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said.

The list follows an uptick in BIS anti-boycott enforcement last year (see 2311300025), including fines against a U.S. synthetic fiber manufacturer in November (see 2311060019) and an aircraft parts supply company in September (see 2309070017).