[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rescinded the statutory debarments of Jami Siraj Choudhury included in 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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