The U.S. Commerce Department has increased the penalty amounts for violations involving export control regulations in line with inflation and “to maintain their deterrent effect.”
According to a Jan. 3 Federal Register notice, the new penalty amounts, which take effect on Jan. 15, are required annually by government departments under the 2015 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act. The Commerce Department’s current penalty amounts were imposed on March 1, 2019.
Under the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the maximum penalty per violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in 2020 will increase from $302,584 to $307,922.
A violation of the Export Control Reform Act could result in a maximum penalty of $305,292, up from $300,000 previously.
BIS also reached increased penalty amounts for violations of the Fastener Quality Act, from $47,357 to $48,192; the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act, from $38,549 to $39,229, and for each day delinquent from $7,710 to $7,846; and the U.S. Additional Protocol Implementation Act, from $31,328 to $31,881.
The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau, which is responsible for the collection of U.S. foreign trade statistics through the Automated Export System, realized an increased maximum penalty amount per violation from $13,948 to $14,194, as well as a per-day delinquency violation penalty of $1,419, up from $1,394 in 2019.
Another Commerce Department agency, the International Trade Administration, will see its authorized maximum penalty amount per violation of the foreign trade zone regulations raised to $2,976, up from $2,924. The maximum penalty amounts per violation of the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement Protective Order will increase from $210,386 to $214,097.