Taiwan warns firms on tech exports to Iran, North Korea

Taiwan issued a warning to local companies not to export electronics components and other items that could be used to make military equipment to Iran or North Korea, promising penalties for failure to comply.

“We have had a few cases recently where customs officials have caught sensitive products that were to be exported, and told the companies that they needed to gain permission to export such items to these countries. None of those items got past customs,” said James Wu, deputy director general of Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade.

It’s an important reminder for Taiwanese companies because the island is one of the world’s largest suppliers of high tech components such as semiconductors and PC parts, including DRAM (dynamic RAM) and motherboards, as well as precision tools. Taiwanese companies also engage in trade with North Korea, Iran, and other countries deemed high risk for the export of certain items that can be used to make military hardware.

The government sent out a statement to companies and posted a notice on its Web site as a reminder that certain electronic components, chemicals, and machine tools can be used to make weapons, and therefore cannot be exported to North Korea and Iran.

The list of controlled items includes consumer electronics devices such as computers, laser printers, optical disc drives, digital mobile phones and digital cameras, as well as industrial products such as silicon wafers and manufacturing robots and more unusual items such as heavy water or mushroom spawn containing narcotics. Last year, the government increased the number of sensitive products to 542 items, from about 300 previously. The change was partly the result of talks with the U.S., according to the statement released Tuesday.

Violators of the policy can face jail time if officials believe they intentionally tried to export sensitive items, or for repeat attempts. But in most cases, companies have unknowingly boxed up sensitive items to ship overseas, and were given warnings, Wu said. The government can also cancel or suspend a company’s export license for failure to comply with the ban.