Honeywell Fined $13 Million for Exporting Sensitive Information to Countries Including China

A logo of Honeywell on its booth during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 22, 2017. Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Honeywell was fined $13 million for allegedly exporting sensitive data to several countries, including China, without obtaining proper authorization, the Department of State announced on May 3.

The State Department’s spokesperson said in a statement that it concluded a settlement with Honeywell International to resolve alleged violations of export rules when the company exported and retransferred technical information about U.S. fighter jets and other military systems without authorization to Canada, China, Ireland, Mexico, and Taiwan.

The exported data “contained engineering prints showing dimensions, geometries, and layouts for manufacturing castings and finished parts for multiple aircraft, gas turbine engines, and military electronics,” a department spokesperson said.

The violations Honeywell has been charged with occurred within a four-year period and include sending to foreign companies, without permission, technical details of military aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F-35 and F-22, helicopters, tanks, and Raytheon’s Tomahawk cruise missiles, according to a proposed charging letter sent by the State Department to the company.

An F-35 jet arrives at its new operational base at Hill Air Force Base, in northern Utah on Sept. 2, 2015. Rick Bowmer/AP Photo

In 2015, Honeywell disclosed to the authorities 71 drawings that it sent to foreign suppliers, 65 of which allegedly violated the U.S. export and transfer rules, the letter stated. The company exported 51 of these drawings to communist China, according to the letter.

In 2018, Honeywell submitted a second voluntary disclosure of technical documents that violated export restrictions, which included 23 drawings exported to Mexico, two to Canada, and two to China, the letter said.

The U.S. government determined that exports to and retransfers in China of drawings for certain parts and components of military equipment disclosed in both sets of documents harmed national security, the letter said.

Honeywell agreed to pay a penalty of $13 million within three years, of which $5 million will be suspended on the condition that these funds will be used to make improvements to Honeywell’s compliance program according to the requirements stipulated by the agreement with the State Department, the statement said.

The agreement requires Honeywell to hire an external special compliance officer initially for at least 18 months to oversee the implementation of the compliance enhancements and to conduct an independent audit of the company’s compliance program during the agreement term, according to the statement.

The State Department decided not to debar Honeywell at this time because the company voluntarily disclosed the alleged violations, recognized the seriousness of its violations, and has put into practice a number of corrective measures, the department said in the statement.

The Honeywell Stance

“Several years ago, we voluntarily informed the U.S. Department of State’s Defense Trade Controls Compliance (DTCC) unit in two voluntary disclosures where Honeywell designs were inadvertently shared during normal business discussions,” Honeywell’s spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email statement.

“The issues Honeywell reported involved technology that was assessed as having an impact on national security, though it is commercially available throughout the world. No detailed manufacturing or engineering expertise was shared.

“Since Honeywell voluntarily self-reported these disclosures, we have taken several actions to ensure there are no repeat incidents. These actions included enhancing export security, investing in additional compliance personnel, and increasing compliance training.”

The company also said in its statement that it would implement all measures prescribed in the settlement agreement to return to compliance and “is fully committed to compliance with all applicable export control laws.”