Export Restrictions for Prop?

johnfl68

I am not finding anything on the Parallax site, so to confirm, are there any export restrictions for the prop chip to any countries?

I am getting ready to start selling a prop based product, and have considerable interest outside of the US, so I want to have my ducks in a row, before I say, yes, I can ship to other countries.

Thanks!

John

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
President Dale: I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of 3 branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad.
Mars Attacks! (1996)

Rayman

Interesting question... I would think that the onus would be on Parallax to warn of any restrictions.

Searider

I believe that the US government will think that everyone in the chain including Parallax, the manufacture and the seller have a responsibility to honor export restrictions.
There are several countries that you can not sell to from the US regardless of what it is. Cuba is one example. I think that there are four others. After that there are other counties based upon the chariteristics of the product such as # of MIPS

It might be a good idea to find out the specifics from the government or a lawyer.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

---

Searider

---

Ken Gracey

No, there are no restrictions of which we are aware.

Some of our suppliers have imposed restrictions on certain semiconductors that we sell. For example, one supplier asked us to agree not to sell to North Korea. But we've never received an order from North Korea. It is more common to receive fraudulent credit card orders from some African countries. Your shipping exporter will also identify any limitations if you attempt to process a package destined for somewhere that the US government has imposed a trade restriction (like Iran).

Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

Restrictions on exports from the United States are under the purview of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Their website is the first place I'd start if I had questions.

-Phil

Ken Gracey

What I can certainly tell you is that your biggest problem will be on the importing side in your destination country. You need to use very general terms on the invoice such as "electronic sensor board" or "motor driver". The more generic, the better. But these are all minor hurdles for the developed world. In developing countries your problem will be postal service, so use DHL or UPS to guarantee delivery.

If you want, I can connect you with Jim Carey, our Sales Manager. He can give you some more tips.

Ken Gracey

Leon

When I was developing parallel-processing transputer-based systems 24 years ago, every foreign order required an export license. Because of the processing power (20 MIPS for each device, 320 MIPS for my 16 transputer system) I couldn't export to numerous countries, including the USSR.

Leon

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
Suzuki SV1000S motorcycle

johnfl68

The processing power was the main concern. They have raised the power considerably from what it used to be, and are now using MTOPS instead of MIPS. Now it is 190,000 MTOPS (possibly more now - I didn't look too hard).

Although there seems to be no real conversion from MIPS to MTOPS, the Prop as a processor seems to be well below the new limit, so it isn't really a concern (or I assume the Feds would have let Parallax know by now).

Hungary and possibly Argentina are the only 2 developing countries currently with interest, and I can ship USPS Express Mail International (as well as the other carriers) to those. The developed countries are easy (used to help ship a bunch of international packages with a previous employer). I will probably offer USPS and UPS, as they have tools integrated with PayPal, which I will use for payments at least in the beginning.

I already have suitable HS Tariff number, and the product is less then $200, so customs should not be a concern.

Thanks for everyone's comments, and Ken for the offer for more information from Jim (I don't think I need to bother him at this time).

John

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
President Dale: I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of 3 branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad.
Mars Attacks! (1996)

Praxis

Put the pro-forma invoice at nominal USD$50 or less for "sample unit" otherwise you customer may get wacked for large duty.

Always include the brochure (if has comms then delete it) with the shipment, make customs clearance faster.

Keep simple explanation on said invoice and if product contains any comms equipment "do not mention it"

Cheers

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Adequatio Rei Et Intellectus

Tracy Allen

If your shipments are going to individuals and are not high value, no problem. Exports from the US all technically require a "destination control statement" which you can look up for the specific wording. That is an assertion that the things you are exporting are done so in accordance with regulations and that "diversion contrary to US law is prohibited". That implies that you are familiar with the regulations. A call to a common carrier like UPS can usually provide great assistance. For higher value shipments and for shipments to commercial concerns, things get more involved. If the value of the shipment in any one HS catagory exceeds US$2500, then a SED (shipper's export declaration) is required, and if you have not done one before, allow plenty of time. Exports to Canada and Mexico may require NAFTA paperwork (even for smaller shipments, at request of the receiver), and larger value shipments may require a country specific invoice or forms. For small shipments, the compliance statements can be written and signed right on the commercial invoice. On forms, key words in the commodity description should match HS commodity number, and all paperwork should be 100% self consistent.

For shipments to the EU, there are the RoHS requirements and there may also be need for CE marking in relation to safety or EMC. It depends on the product and how important it is will depend on your customer. Individual hobbiests are one thing, established professionals, government agencies, and companies are another.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Tracy Allen
www.emesystems.com

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

I'll ditto Tracy's assertion about the helpfulness of FedEx and UPS. Here is a page from which you can access the "Schedule B" export codes for your commodities. The page also announces that all export documents now have to be filed electronically. The paper SED has been retired, and those who continue to file them can be fined.

Did you know that exports are regulated by the Census Bureau? Maybe it's because nine years out of ten, they don't have much else to do.

-Phil

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
'Just a few PropSTICK Kit bare PCBs left!

johnfl68

As Tracy said, according to the DHL site (http://www.dhl-usa.com/intlsvcs/detail/aboutEEF.asp?nav=USServices/IDeliveryServices/EEF) you do not need to do the electronic filing unless the value exceeds $2500, shipment contains rough diamonds, arms, is being shipped to Cuba, etc.

I'm not exporting thousands of units (I wish), maybe selling 500 in a year if I'm lucky - most to US. Again, my main concern was based on processing power, but that limit has been raised (not that I thought there was a problem, and I would think that Parallax would have said something, so I was just double checking).

These are mainly individual sales, so standard customs form with shipment seems to suffice. Based on the UPS site's International Tools, no compliance requirements apply for this product, based on the HS Tariff number of a similar product, and a sampling of possible countries. I will probably talk to someone at UPS when I get closer to the product release here soon.

John

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
President Dale: I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of 3 branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad.
Mars Attacks! (1996)