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The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 gives the President of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 the authority to control the import and export of defense articles and defense services. It requires governments that receive weapons from the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 to use them for legitimate self-defense. Consideration is given as to whether the exports "would contribute to an arms race, aid in the development of weapons of mass destruction, support international terrorism, increase the possibility of outbreak or escalation of conflict, or prejudice the development of bilateral or multilateral arms control or nonproliferation agreements or other arrangements." The Act also places certain restrictions on American arms traders and manufacturers, prohibiting them from the sale of certain sensitive technologies to certain parties and requiring thorough documentation of such trades to trusted parties.

In March 2007, ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation

ITT Corporation is a global diversified manufacturing company with 2007 revenues of $9.0 billion. ITT participates in global markets including water and fluids management, defense and security, and motion and flow control....
 was fined for criminal
Corporate crime

In criminology, corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a corporation , or by individuals that may be identified with a corporation or other business entity ....
 violation of the act.






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The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 gives the President of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 the authority to control the import and export of defense articles and defense services. It requires governments that receive weapons from the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 to use them for legitimate self-defense. Consideration is given as to whether the exports "would contribute to an arms race, aid in the development of weapons of mass destruction, support international terrorism, increase the possibility of outbreak or escalation of conflict, or prejudice the development of bilateral or multilateral arms control or nonproliferation agreements or other arrangements." The Act also places certain restrictions on American arms traders and manufacturers, prohibiting them from the sale of certain sensitive technologies to certain parties and requiring thorough documentation of such trades to trusted parties.

In March 2007, ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation

ITT Corporation is a global diversified manufacturing company with 2007 revenues of $9.0 billion. ITT participates in global markets including water and fluids management, defense and security, and motion and flow control....
 was fined for criminal
Corporate crime

In criminology, corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a corporation , or by individuals that may be identified with a corporation or other business entity ....
 violation of the act. The fines resulted from ITT's outsourcing
Outsourcing

Outsourcing is subcontracting a process, such as product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company. The decision to outsource is often made in the interest of lowering firm or making better use of time and energy costs, redirecting or conserving energy directed at the core competence of a particular business, or to make more efficient...
 program, in which they transferred night vision goggles
Night vision goggles

A night vision device is an optical instrument that allows images to be produced in levels of light approaching total darkness. They are most often used by the military and police agencies, but are available to civilian users....
 and classified information
Classified information

Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular classes of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data....
 about countermeasure
Countermeasure

A countermeasure is a system designed to prevent sensor-based weapons from acquiring and/or destroying a target.Countermeasures that alter the electromagnetic, acoustic or other signature of a target thereby altering the tracking and sensing behavior of an incoming threat are designated softkill measures....
s against laser weapons, including light interference filters to engineers in Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. They were fined $100 million US dollars, although they were also given the option of spending half of that sum on research and development
Research and development

The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications [sic]" ...
 of new night vision technology. The United States government will assume rights to the resulting created intellectual property.

In January 2009, Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich

Dennis John Kucinich is a United States Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives and was a candidate for the Democratic National Convention in the U.S....
 sent notice to Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, that Israel’s actions in Gaza since December 27th, 2008 may constitute a violation of the requirements of the Arms Export Control Act. When the President is aware of the possibility of such violations, the AECA requires a report to Congress on the potential violation(s).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducts an industry outreach program called the Project Shield America to prevent foreign adversaries, terrorists, and criminal networks from obtaining U.S. munitions and strategic technology.

External links

  • from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement