COMMERCE FINES GERMAN FIRM $30,000 FOR ILLEGAL EXPORT OF SHOTGUNS

COMMERCE FINES GERMAN FIRM $30,000 FOR ILLEGAL EXPORT OF SHOTGUNS    The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has fined Hans Wrage & Co. GmbH $30,000 for illegally exporting U.S.-origin shotguns from Germany to Poland.
   The agency found that on three occasions between October 1996 and September 1998, Wrage shipped 1,550 shotguns valued at more than $470,000 from Germany to Poland without obtaining the required authorization from the U.S. government.
   “At the time Wrage made the shipments to Poland, the U.S. Export Administration Regulations required a license for exports and re-exports to Poland of shotguns with a barrel length of 18 inches but less than 24 inches,” the agency said. “The purpose of the control was to promote the observance of human rights.”
   This control no longer applies to shipments to Poland because the country has since joined NATO, but control continues on shipments to all countries except Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and member states of NATO.
   “The penalty (for the illegal shotgun shipments) was mitigated by the fact that Wrage fully cooperated with the investigation,” said Michael J. Garcia, U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement.