3 US companies “send” technology to China to “save a few dollars”

The US Commerce Department said Quicksilver Manufacturing, Rapid Cut and US Prototype companies received technical drawings and blueprints from US customers, then sent them to manufacturers in China to convert to 3D printed models. related satellites, missiles and national defense without authorization.

The three companies with the same address in Wilmington, North Carolina were not immediately available for comment. The Chinese embassy in Washington has not yet responded to the incident.

“The 3D printing of space and defense prototypes in China compromises US national security. By submitting drawings,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Exports Matthew Axelrod. engineering and blueprints from customers to China, these companies may have saved a few dollars but at the expense of the overall cost of protecting US military technology.”

The US Department of Commerce on June 8 suspended the export rights of three US-based companies for 180 days. Photo: Reuters

The Commerce Department said the information illegally sent to China included sensitive prototype space and defense technologies and that the 180-day export suspension could be extended. The US Department of Commerce did not identify companies that have contracted with the three North Carolina companies.

A department investigation found that Quicksilver received an order in July 2017 for a space satellite prototype from an aerospace company. To create the components, Quicksilver was provided with about 12 technical drawings and 3D/computer-aided drawing files.

An employee of the company signed a non-disclosure agreement that included a process conducted under US export control regulations. But the permit application may have been denied.

Even so, Quicksilver completed the order in August of the same year without obtaining a permit and with an invoice showing that the products had been shipped from China. The US Department of Commerce also discovered a similar breach last July by Rapid Cut – the company with ownership and personnel related to Quicksilver – involving technologies controlled for national security. American family.