Jonathan Poling Quoted in Export Compliance Daily on “Uncommon Relationship” Between Commerce Dept. and Texas Police

Akin Gump international trade partner Jonathan Poling has been quoted in the Export Compliance Daily story “Uncommon Relationship Between BIS, Texas Police Raises Concerns.” The article reports on, what it describes as, “an unorthodox relationship” between the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and a local police agency to help investigate illegally exported goods.

According to the publication, the police agency is part of a task force that seizes millions of dollars in goods per year and has helped successfully prosecute at least a dozen export seizure cases since 2018. The alliance, the article says, underscores the challenges facing BIS in handling enforcement issues with potential foreign policy implications that require extensive knowledge across a variable set of export regulations.

“We have dedicated federal law enforcement agencies that look at export control and sanctions investigations. The FBI does it. [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] does it. Commerce does it,” said Poling, who prosecuted export control cases at the Justice Department. “I think a question that might be raised is whether this is really a good use of local law enforcement resources.”

Poling added, “It is typically not something you can give someone a quick course in and have any law enforcement office be as qualified” as a federal agent. He pointed out that agents often received specialized training within their own agencies and may train at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center or the FBI Academy.