By Karen Freifeld
(Reuters) – The Biden administration will crack down on firms that violate U.S. export guidelines, with stiffer penalties to discourage future violations, a Department of Commerce (DOC) official mentioned late on Tuesday.
“There are going to have to be some penalties that get everyone’s attention,” Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export management on the DOC, mentioned at a New York University School of Law occasion on company compliance and enforcement in Manhattan. “I think we’re on the cusp of that.”
Axelrod mentioned he considered the $300 million penalty Seagate Technology paid in April after transport over 7 million laborious drives to China’s Huawei in violation of U.S. export management legal guidelines as a “down payment.”
“You can expect to see more big-ticket corporate resolutions going forward,” Axelrod mentioned.
The DOC regulates and enforces export management guidelines and has drawn fireplace amid experiences of U.S. know-how illegally ending up in China and Russia in violation of rules.
