"Know who you are going to do business with before issuance of a Purchase Order. Is the test lab actually a distributor that outsources testing, a supplier of products, a consultant that hires a 3rd party to test that is not a lab at all, but appears to be an independant 3rd party by visiting their website?
GOOGLE EARTH and you may find that the ESD lab is really located in a shed behind someone's house, in a basement or simply someone's home and not a lab at all. Or the lab is offshore with a US address. A lot of this information we receive comes from the Customer after visiting the "so-called lab" only to find what is not a lab at all.
The simplest and most effective way for you to identify a legitimate 3rd party laboratory is to perform a a GOOGLE EARTH search. For example, GOOGLE our facility and you can easily see our location.
From a business perspective for protection of your IP, it is always wise to know exactly who you are doing business with.
ITAR AND YOUR SELECTION OF AN ESD TEST LABORATORY
Why Do You need to know about ITAR?
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) control the export and import of defense-related articles and services on the United States Munitions List (USML).[1] These regulations implement the provisions of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), and are described in Title 22 (Foreign Relations), Chapter I (Department of State), Subchapter M of the Code of Federal Regulations.
The Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) interprets and enforces ITAR. Its goal is to safeguard U.S. national security and further U.S. foreign policy objectives.[2] The related Export Administration Regulations (Code of Federal Regulations Title 15 chapter VII, subchapter C) are enforced and interpreted by the Bureau of Industry and Security in the Commerce Department.
The Department of Defense is also involved in the review and approval process. Physical enforcement of the ITAR; and all import and export laws of the United States is performed by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents (formerly U.S. Customs) under Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, Customs and Border Protection Officers, also under the Department of Homeland Security, inspect imports and exports at U.S. Border Crossings and International Airports and enforce import and export regulations.
For practical purposes, ITAR regulations dictate that information and material pertaining to defense and military related technologies (items listed on the U.S. Munitions List) may only be shared with U.S. Persons unless authorization from the Department of State is received or a special exemption is used.[3] U.S. Persons (including organizations) can face heavy fines if they have, without authorization or the use of an exemption, provided foreign persons with access to ITAR-protected defense articles, services or technical data.[4]
Source: Wikipedia