US penalties for technology sales to China have soared this year, Commerce Department official says

Punitive actions taken by the US for the sale of sensitive technology to China have soared this year as agencies policing such transactions have expanded their reach, a Commerce Department official said on Wednesday, in a hearing where the department was pushed to identify more technologies subject to export controls.

Investigations by the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) into China-related transactions have resulted in 226 months of prison time, US$1,858,000 in criminal fines, and US$4,048,000 in civil penalties so far this year, the bureau’s acting undersecretary Jeremy Pelter said in a hearing before a congressional advisory panel.