ILLINOIS-BASED SHIPPERS FINED $142,000 FOR ILLEGAL EXPORTS

ILLINOIS-BASED SHIPPERS FINED $142,000 FOR ILLEGAL EXPORTS    The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Export Administration imposed a $142,000 civil penalty on Illinois Tool Works for illegally exporting chemicals to Brazil.
   The agency alleged that on seven occasions, between March 1994 and October 1997, the Magnaflux Division of Illinois Tool Works exported U.S.-origin chemicals to Brazil without the required export licenses. Magnaflux also made false statements about the shipments on its shipper’s export declarations.
   The Commerce Department controls the exports of certain chemicals, which could be used in the manufacture of chemical weapons, as part of a multilateral agreement with 30 chemical producing countries, called the Australia Group.
   Illinois Tool Works neither confirmed nor denied the allegations but agreed to pay the penalty, of which $37,000 was suspended as part of yesterday’s settlement.