[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 11 (Thursday, January 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2802-2803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00656]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 11002]
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs; Rescission of Statutory
Debarment of Jami Siraj Choudhury, David Michael Janowski II, Netria
Corporation, Jonathan Robert Reynolds, and State Metal Industries, Inc.
Under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Department of State has
rescinded the statutory debarments of Jami Siraj Choudhury included in
Federal Register notice of April 2, 2004, David Michael Janowski II
included in Federal Register notice of August 25, 2009, Netria
Corporation included in Federal Register notice of April 25, 2018,
Jonathan Robert Reynolds included in Federal Register notice of
September 3, 2003, and State Metal Industries, Inc. included in Federal
Register notice of June 20, 2007. The aforementioned parties are
hereinafter individually and collectively referred to as ``the
Parties.''
DATES: This recission is effective on January 16, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jae Shin, Director, Office of Defense
Trade Controls Compliance, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs,
Department of State (202) 632-2107.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 38(g)(4) of the Arms Export Control
Act (AECA), 22 U.S.C. 2778(g)(4), prohibits the issuance of licenses or
other approvals for the export of defense articles or defense services
where the applicant, or any party to the export, has been convicted of
violating the AECA and certain other U.S. criminal statues enumerated
in Sec. 38(g)(1) of the AECA. In addition, Sec. 127.7(b) of the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) provides for the
statutory debarment of any person who has been convicted of violating
or conspiring to violate the AECA. As stated in this provision, it is
the policy of the Department not to consider applications for licenses
or requests for approvals involving any person who has been statutorily
debarred. Persons subject to statutory debarment are prohibited from
participating directly or indirectly in any activities that are subject
to the ITAR.
Each of the Parties pleaded guilty to violating the AECA, and the
Department notified the public of the respective Parties' statutory
debarments imposed pursuant to ITAR Sec. 127.7(c) via notices in the
Federal Register. The notices provided that the Parties were
``prohibited from participating directly or indirectly in the export of
defense articles, including technical data, or in the furnishing of
defense services for which a license or other approval is required.''
In accordance with ITAR Sec. 127.7(b), reinstatement may only be
approved after submission of a request by the debarred party. In
response to such a request from the Parties for reinstatement, the
Department has conducted a thorough review of the circumstances
surrounding each of the Parties' convictions, and has determined that
the Parties have individually taken appropriate steps to address the
causes of the violations sufficient to warrant rescission of their
respective notice of statutory debarment. Therefore, pursuant to ITAR
Sec. 127.7(b), the Department determines it is no longer in the
national security and foreign policy interests of the United States to
maintain the policy as applied to the Parties, and the Department
hereby rescinds the notice of the Parties' statutory debarment.
The Department notes that the Federal Register notice of debarment
for each of the Parties stated that ``export privileges may be
reinstated only at the request of the debarred person followed by the
necessary interagency consultations, after a thorough review of the
circumstances surrounding the conviction, and a finding that
appropriate steps have been taken to mitigate any law enforcement
concerns, as required by Sec. 38(g)(4) of the AECA. Unless export
privileges are reinstated, however, the person remains debarred.'' (See
respective FRN). The Department is no longer requiring that export
privileges be reinstated pursuant to ITAR Sec. 127.11 and Sec.
38(g)(4) of the AECA prior to the rescission of statutory debarment.
This change in policy recognizes that the circumstances warranting
statutory debarment may be
[[Page 2803]]
different from those warranting the revocation of export privileges.
The Department may find, as it does with regard to each of the Parties,
that the national security and foreign policy interests of the United
States are not advanced by maintaining the Department-imposed ITAR
Sec. 127.7(b) prohibition on persons convicted of violating or
conspiring to violate the AECA from ``participating directly or
indirectly in any activities that are subject to [the ITAR]'' and where
the debarred person may not meet the requirements of ITAR Sec.
127.11(b) (implementing the restrictions of Sec. 38(g)(4) of the
AECA).
This notice rescinds the statutory debarment of each of the Parties
but does not provide notice of reinstatement of export privileges for
each of the Parties pursuant to the statutory requirements of Sec.
38(g)(4) of the AECA and ITAR Sec. 127.11. As required by the statute,
the Department may not issue a license directly to any of the Parties
except as may be determined on a case-by-case basis after interagency
consultations, a thorough review of the circumstances surrounding the
conviction, and a finding that appropriate steps have been taken to
mitigate any law enforcement concerns. Any determination by the
Department regarding the reinstatement of export privileges for each of
the Parties will be made in accordance with these statutory and
regulatory requirements and will be the subject of a separate notice.
All otherwise eligible persons may engage in exports of any of the
Parties' manufactured defense articles, incorporate any of the Parties'
manufactured items into defense articles for export, or otherwise
engage in transactions subject to the ITAR without providing prior
written notification of the Parties' involvement as otherwise required
by ITAR Sec. 127.1(d) and the transaction exception requirements of
the Federal Register notice of statutory debarment.
Dated: December 16, 2019.
R. Clarke Cooper,
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Department
of State.
[FR Doc. 2020-00656 Filed 1-15-20; 8:45 am]
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