Final destination of exported goods

Question

Tesla Engineering Limited manufactures a range of electro-magnets.

Our biggest selling item is gradient coils (the part of an MRI scanner that you lie in when being scanned). We sell these to multinationals such as Philips. but also to smaller customers in China and South Korea. Those customers then sell complete MRI systems to hospitals etc.

We cannot control where in the world our customers sell to. For example, a Korean customer may sell an MRI system into Ira, but we won’t know this or be able to prevent it.

Could we face any sanction of making unauthorised suppliers to ‘banned; countries in these circumstances?

Answer

Hi David
In response to your question, if your goods are under export licence control, particularly for goods under the category of "dual use", then it is advisable to ensure that any overseas distributors conform to a formal agreement not to supply certain countries that you stipulate. Exporters are required to demonstrate due diligence if items are under licence control. If your goods are not under licence control then in theory, you are under no obligation to demonstrate due diligence for re-export however you would have to demonstrate that you are not part of a formal supply chain system where you know your goods are being re-exported to restricted areas. My comments are for guidance only and my personal assessment/opinion and we would always recommend that you contact the appropriate government department for confirmation of your responsibilities. Please feel free to call me on 0800 0787 747,
Gary

Answer

Hi – I’m afraid you have to ensure you get statements from the companies you ship your goods to that they will not trade with UN, OSCE, EU, UK and probably USA embargoed or sanctioned markets. There is an End-User Statement that you can have annuallly signed or built into the contract terms – we can provide a copy if you are interested. If there are any USA origin parts within the MRI Scanner then you could have inadvertently breached US re-export controls. There is a "chain of custody" in these cases and though that is less restrictive if your goods are not on a controlled list – ieal-use/EAR: military/ITAR you still need to do due diligence and have procedures to check onward shipment of your goods.

you can contact me at [email protected]

Export Action Plan