Last month the Bureau of Industry and Security fined Phoenix-based used equipment and part dealer MHz Electronics $10,000 in connection with its exports of two pressure transducers classified as ECCN 2B230 to China and Taiwan. The fine was suspended contingent upon MHz behaving itself during a two-year “probationary period.”

Pressure transducers meeting the specifications in ECCN 2B230 can be used for blast measurement and are therefore controlled because of the role that they can allegedly play in nuclear testing and proliferation. The two items involved were sold for the eye-popping amounts of $280 and $1,100. Even though the fine imposed here was low, BIS’s miff factor was quite high, with the settlement documents noting that MHz did not have an “export compliance program.” In addition, MHz apparently brushed off a visit by FBI agents that had been trolling MHz’s (now-closed) eBay store and told them that one item (not either of these transducers) listed by them on eBay would require an export license if shipped internationally.

Under the circumstances, MHz got off lightly. But even so, this case raises some interesting questions and difficulties for export compliance for businesses like MHz. Like thousands of other small businesses, MHz bought and sold used electronic and testing equipment. With a 96,000 square foot warehouse, it no doubt had a staggering number of different kinds and types of parts and equipment.

How would it obtain ECCNs for all those items? Oh, you say, easy peasy: call the original manufacturer and ask. Uh-huh. Have you ever tried that before? Particularly if you’re selling used parts in an aftermarket competing with the original manufacturer. “You say you need the ECCN of our Model 2370C snarkle widget puffinator? Sure thing. Give me your phone number and someone will get right back to you by, say, April 1, 2032. Does that work?” Click.

And, I’m sure it should come as no surprise that many original manufacturers have no clue as to the ECCNs of their products, particularly if they are foreign. Try calling China and asking (in English or, even, Cantonese or Mandarin) for an ECCN.

Even if spec sheet for the product is published by the manufacturer, it rarely aligns with the control parameters in the relevant ECCN. I challenge you to figure out the classification of a CNC-machine, a computer, or almost anything else from published specification sheets.

The bottom line here is that compliance challenges effectively foreclose used parts companies (except, I suppose, companies exclusively devoted to selling used knitting supplies or antique fountain pens) from participating in the export market at all. And given that the parts that they sell are usually readily available outside the United States, there’s not much of a real justification for shutting this market down for them. BIS says that these bargain-basement priced items could be used for nuclear bomb testing. Does anyone really think that aspiring nuclear powers could not lay their hands on these (and probably better) items outside the United States?  And, if you can use a $280 sensor in nuclear testing, well, we’re in a lot more trouble than I imagined.

UPDATE:  An alert reader, who knows way more about nuclear bombs than I ever will, points out that pressure transducers covered by ECCN 2B230 are used for uranium enrichment in centrifuges, not for blast measurement.   Specifically, the reader notes:  “While 13 kiloPascal sounds like a big number, atmospheric pressure is 101 kPa, so 13 kPa is closer to a vacuum level.”    I’m going to point some finger of blame at BIS itself, which in the charging documents said: “Items classified under ECCN 2B230 … can be of significance for nuclear explosive purposes,” which suggests that the enforcement folks at BIS made the same mistake. Imagine that. In any event, if these small, readily available and inexpensive parts can be used for centrifuge uranium enrichment, we’re still in a whole lot of trouble.