U.S. chemical shipper pays $647,500 fine to illegal exports

U.S. chemical shipper pays $647,500 fine to illegal exports    Chicago-based chemical shipper Morton International, and its affiliates in Semoy, France, and Tokyo, agreed to pay a $647,500 civil penalty to the U.S. government to settle charges for alleged illegal exports.
   The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) alleged that in 1999 Morton International shipped thiodiglycol on one occasion and attempted to export on two others to Mexico without the proper licenses. Thiodiglycol is a controlled export for chemical and biological reasons.
   The agency also charged that on 10 occasions between May 2000 and May 2001 Morton International exported organo-inorganic compounds to Singapore and Taiwan without the required licenses.
   Between October 1997 and September 2000, BIS found that Morton International S.A.S. in France committed 19 violations of the Export Administration Regulations by re-exporting organo-inorganic compounds to Israel, Poland, and Tunisia without proper licenses.
   Similarly, the agency found that between September 1997 and October 2000, Rohm and Haas Japan K.K. committed 117 violations of the Export Administration Regulations by re-exporting organ-inorganic compounds to Taiwan and India without the required licenses.
   According to BIS, Morton International voluntarily disclosed the violations relating to the illegal shipments of organo-inorganic compounds in cooperating with the agency’s investigation.