Some companies have found a new reason to register with the Directorate of Defense Controls (“DDTC”), one that would probably cause the folks at DDTC to raise an eyebrow or three. Consider this press release from test equipment manufacturer CIMTEK:

CIMTEK, Inc., the leader in functional electronic test and test data management solutions, today announced that it now is International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) registered. Meeting ITAR Certification certifies that CIMTEK has met requirements pertaining to organization structure, documentation, corporate policy, training and procedures to permit it to handle, use and transfer information controlled by ITAR and the U.S. Munitions list.

Companies receiving this certification demonstrate that they have knowledge and understanding to fully comply with the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations as well as having corporate procedures and controls in place to ensure compliance.

Uh, no. Filing a registration application with DDTC just means that the company knows how to fill out a form and pay the fee. There is no “certification” that the registrant has any level of knowledge or has met any requirements relating to training and procedures.

But that’s not the only misunderstanding CIMTEK had about the registration process:

CIMTEK has been servicing the military sector for 10 years as a provider of functional test equipment, and has participated as a partner in programs that involved exporting. ITAR certification allows CIMTEK to expand its test solutions to fully include design, manufacturing and shipping military products that are exported, without requiring a partner.

Uh, no, again. Under ITAR §122.1(a) a company is required to register if it manufactures defense articles even if they are never exported. It is a common misunderstanding that only exporters must register.

Moral of story: press releases about the ITAR should be reviewed by someone who has at least read the ITAR at some point.

Permalink