The Justice Department has announced that Technip S.A., a global engineering, construction and services company based in Paris, has agreed to pay a $240 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts. The EPC contracts to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria, were valued at more than $6 billion.
The Justice Department reports that John Webster Warwick, 64, a Virginia Beach, Va. resident, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., to 37 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to former Panamanian government officials to secure maritime contracts.The U.S. District Court Judge also sentenced Warwick to two years of supervised release following his prison term. In addition, Warwick forfeited $331,000 in proceeds of the crime.
The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on nanotechnology which concludes that nanomaterials are already widely used in commerce, but the Environmental Protection Agency faces challenges in regulating their risks.
The Department of Energy has issued a supplemental notice containing additional language and definitions to its December 2008 proposed rule to amend test procedures for residential clothes dryers and room air conditioners to provide for measurement of standby mode and off mode power use. DOE will hold a public meeting on July 14, 2010, and comments are due by August 30.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has announced that Plane Cargo Inc. (PCI), a freight forwarder located in Houston, TX, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $ 5,200 to settle one allegation that it violated the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations.
On June 12, 2010, the President issued Proclamation 8536 which amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to extend and establish certain sugar tariff rate quotas for Costa Rica under the DR-CAFTA1 and make technical corrections to certain other free trade agreement General Notes.
The Department of Homeland Security has posted Secretary Napolitano's remarks about DHS' ongoing efforts—and announced new steps—to bolster security along the Southwest border at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. DHS has also issued a fact sheet on the Southwest border next steps.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products which may be considered technical barriers to trade and are therefore required to be reported to the World Trade Organization, which distributes the information to WTO Member countries.
The Federal Maritime Commission announces that Chairman Lidinsky and Commissioner Dye will address the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, on June 30, 2010, to report on the status of the investigation "Vessel Capacity and Equipment Availability in the United States Export and Import Liner Trades."