International Trade Law News

Published by Jacobson Burton Kelley PLLC

Below is a one of the more interesting and unusual ITAR registration-related press releases I have seen. Be sure to see the next to last sentence regarding the "dirty secret":

HighRely Achieves ITAR Compliance & Registration: one of just several U.S. avionics services companies with ITAR compliance

PHOENIX, ARIZONA November 26, 2008 (PRLEAP.COM) -- HighRely is pleased to announce that the United States Department of State has awarded HighRely Incorporated full and complete ITAR registration via Registrant Code MXXXX00 valid through 2009 and beyond via HighRely’s compliance with all aspects of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Part 122.

This ITAR Registration means that HighRely is in the unique position of being able to fully support all military projects in the U.S. Unlike other companies who are based in the U.S. but owned by foreign companies or non-Americans and with restrictions making them ineligible for ITAR compliance, HighRely is fully owned and operated 100% by U.S. citizens as denoted by HighRely’s ITAR registration.

Says Mr. Reza Madjidi "As a U.S. citizen myself, I appreciate the significance of being a principal owner of one of the few ITAR compliant avionics services companies in the world. When Vance Hilderman and I founded HighRely and then were later joined by Tony Baghai (also a U.S. citizen), we were fully aware of the need to address both the commercial and military avionics market. Having worked for a foreign company that had resources in the U.S. but was not ITAR compliant, we simply wanted to be honest and open about our ownership. At our old company we were not able to do that as they were 100% foreign owned and not able to be ITAR compliant, even though they operated offices in Phoenix and hired U.S. citizens as managers. Hence we were unable to engage in much of the work they wanted us to do. At HighRely that is not an issue because all the owners are 100% U.S. citizens. And HighRely has been awarded this high status of full ITAR compliance which validates that rational. It is a good day for HighRely, and the U.S."

Adds Mr. Mike Smith of HighRely "Many of our customers require ITAR compliance for DO-178B and DO-254 defense avionics projects. Everyone knows that outsourcing software to Asia, India or Costa Rica sounds like a good idea but the success stories are rare. The "dirty secret" of this industry is that many companies masquerade as compliant U.S. companies or feign ITAR compliance when in fact they are unable to be ITAR compliant. HighRely’s avionics solutions are fully ITAR compliant as is HighRely."

Labels: ITAR