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Board-Certified ITAR Compliance Attorneys Helping Defense-Related Businesses
It is the job of the US federal government to regulate the export of military-related technologies to make sure that they comply with the foreign policy objectives of the United States. To this end, the US federal government has enacted regulations that govern the export of defense, military and dual-use technologies.
- The US Department of State administers the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which regulate the export of defense-related goods and services.
- The US Department of Commerce administers the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which govern the export of goods, services, software, and technology.
ITAR is a highly complex set of regulations, and it is unlikely that you will be able to comply with them despite your best intentions without the aid of an ITAR compliance attorney.
Sequoia Legal is an ITAR law firm located in Denver. Our ITAR/EAR attorneys serve as legal counsel related to export control matters and foreign trade regulations.
Our in-depth knowledge of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) goes to work for you, helping protect your organization from ITAR violations and ensuring organizational practices meet the standards for ITAR compliance.
Our ITAR Export Control Compliance Services
ITAR and similar export matters are some of the most aggressively enforced areas of US law. You definitely do not want to get on the wrong side of the authorities when it comes to real or perceived regulatory compliance. The ITAR compliance attorneys at Sequoia Legal can assist you in establishing export compliance programs to address present and future concerns. We also work to mitigate ITAR compliance issues should they occur.
Sequoia Legal’s key service areas for ITAR matters include:
- Performing due diligence investigations for upcoming M&A and similar transactions. We can advise you on export control requirements with respect to financing and transactional matters.
- Securing government advisory opinions on issues of regulatory interpretation.
- Submitting Commodity Jurisdictions to the DDTC.
- Providing your company with day-to-day advice on regulatory interpretation, export compliance measures, and licensing requirements.
- Obtaining government approvals and licenses.
- Executing internal investigations to uncover instances of export control noncompliance, reform your company’s export control procedures, and negotiate resolutions with federal government agencies.
- Avoiding or minimizing fines and other sanctions for export control violations.
- Minimizing your company’s legal risk and exercising damage control measures if a violation should occur.
- Planning and executing compliance audits and voluntary self-disclosures.
We will help you understand the interlocking roles of the numerous federal government agencies that oversee export regulation, including the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Our Successful Cases
What Does ITAR Law Cover?
ITAR is one of the chief regulatory frameworks that govern the laws and practices surrounding the export of certain types of goods. ITAR regulations were established under the authority of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and are primarily concerned with the regulation of defense-related goods.
Any organization involved in the production, sale, or exportation of defense goods, services, or data must ensure its export practices adhere to the foreign trade regulations established under ITAR. Compliance issues bring the potential for serious consequences, including fines, prison sentences, and loss of export privileges. The ITAR compliance attorneys at Sequoia Legal can assist you in establishing export compliance programs to mitigate ITAR compliance issues.
ITAR-controlled items are listed under the US Munitions Control List (USML), encompassing hundreds of defense-related items divided into thirteen categories:
- Firearms and related articles
- Guns and armament
- Ammunition and ordnance
- Launch vehicles, guided missiles, ballistic missiles, rockets, torpedoes, bombs, and mines
- Explosives and energetic materials, propellants, incendiary agents, and their constituents
- Surface vessels of war and special naval equipment
- Ground vehicles
- Aircraft and related articles
- Military training equipment and training
- Personal protective equipment
- Military electronics
- Fire control, laser, imaging, and guidance equipment
- Materials and miscellaneous articles
Maintaining ITAR compliance can be particularly challenging due to frequent changes of the list.
The Most Common ITAR Problems
We see the same problems arise again and again when small and medium-sized businesses are faced with export compliance matters. These problems include:
- Failing to implement internal export compliance programs. If your company is involved in exporting controlled products or technology, it is essential that you have a formal written export compliance program in place.
- Exporting an item despite known regulatory problems that you fail to resolve prior to export.
- Failing to keep up with new developments in foreign trade regulations.
- Insufficient record-keeping. Record-keeping does not end as soon as you obtain an export license — you need to record every aspect of export compliance in case there are ITAR compliance issues down the road.
- Neglecting to pursue appropriate due diligence and failing to obtain necessary export licenses. Taking shortcuts in these areas could, in a worst-case scenario, lead to ITAR compliance issues that bring legal issues such as significant fines and criminal charges.
- Failing to determine the identity of the end-users of the products that you export.
- Disclosing controlled data to foreign national without authorization (also known as “deemed exports”).
We Assist Companies Across Numerous Defense-Related Sectors
Sequoia Legal can advise clients involved in the following industries on a broad range of export control matters to achieve EAR and ITAR compliance:
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Defense
- Electronics
- Emerging technologies
- Energy
- Financial services
- Life sciences
- Information technology
- Machine tools
- Nonprofits
- Robotics
- Telecommunications
- Software
The foregoing list is not exhaustive — we work with other industries as well. We also offer legal services to assist with securing the necessary licensing for exporting to export-controlled, embargoed, or otherwise restricted ITAR countries.
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