U.S. suspends three firms’ export privileges for alleged illegal exports to China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Commerce Section said on Wednesday it was suspending the export privileges of three U.S.-based mostly companies for 180 days for what it said was the unlawful export of satellite, rocket and defense technologies to China.

Quicksilver Producing Inc, Fast Reduce LLC and U.S. Prototype Inc are topic to the motion for the unauthorized export of technological drawings and blueprints used to 3-D print satellite, rocket, and defense-associated prototypes, the department reported.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not quickly comment. The three organizations could not immediately be reached.

“Outsourcing 3-D printing of place and defense prototypes to China harms U.S. countrywide security,” reported Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod. “By sending their customers’ specialized drawings and blueprints to China, these businesses may well have saved a handful of bucks—but they did so at the collective cost of shielding U.S. armed forces technology.”

The orders cuts off not only the suitable to export merchandise but also to obtain or take part in exports from the United States or reexports of goods issue to the laws.

Commerce claimed with out customers’ progress consent or understanding “these drawings were provided to makers in China to 3-D-print the things without the expected U.S. Governing administration authorizations.”

The information illegally despatched to China “included sensitive prototype place and protection technologies.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Costas Pitas in Los Angeles Editing by Tim Ahmann and David Gregorio)