Iran Sanctions: Complete and Timely Licensing Data Needed to Strengthen Enforcement of Export Restrictions
Highlights
In 1995, the United States banned exports to Iran of most U.S. goods without a Treasury Department license. In 2008, the U.S. media, citing U.S. government statistics, reported that U.S. firms were exporting numerous goods to Iran. The statistics are maintained by the Census Bureau and are based on data filed by exporters or their agents. The United States has also generally banned unlicensed transshipments of U.S. goods to Iran via other nations. In this report, GAO assesses the extent to which (1) U.S. trade statistics accurately depict exports to Iran, (2) Treasury licenses exports to Iran in accordance with the trade restrictions and provides licensing data to enforcement agencies and Congress, and (3) Iran obtains U.S. military and dual-use goods through transshipment. GAO analyzed Census export data, a randomly selected sample of Treasury export licenses, Treasury licensing information systems, and U.S. government transshipment data. It also interviewed relevant U.S. government officials.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Treasury | To help ensure that U.S. agencies have timely access to reliable data concerning licensed U.S. exports to Iran, the Secretary of the Treasury should ensure that the Department of the Treasury develop the capability to provide other agencies and Congress with complete and timely information concerning all licenses issued for the export of goods to Iran. |
In 2012, Treasury's GAO liaison official informed GAO that Treasury had adopted a new electronic licensing system that includes all licenses and provided us with documentation showing that the system was designed to help Treasury share licensing information with other agencies.
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