RSVP: EXTRANCHECK: POST-SHIPMENT VERIFICATION; NITTO DENKO

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001915 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADD SENSITIVE CAPTION) USDOC FOR 532/OEA/L.HINES/K.GAINES USDOC FOR 3121/USFCS/OIO/EAP/ADESARRAN USDOC FOR 4430/ITA/MAC/WGOLIKE/LDICKERSON FROM AIT/KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: BEXP ETRD ETTC TW SUBJECT: RSVP: EXTRANCHECK: POST-SHIPMENT VERIFICATION; NITTO DENKO CORPORATION REF: 06 USDOC 03561 (APPLICATION NUMBER: D303488) SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (U) AIT/Kaohsiung PCO Janee Pierre-Louis, FN Commercial Assistant Daphne Fan and Intern Andrew Fowers visited Nitto Denko Corporation at the address given and met with the Production Engineering Group Manager, Tomokazu Himura and Assistant Manager, Chun-lin Chen, to conduct a post-shipment verification on August 17, 2007. ¶2. (U) Nitto Denko Corporation, with paid-up capital of NTD 404,997,000 (USD 1: NTD 33),was established and registered with the Taiwan authorities in 1969. Nitto Denko manufactures PVC insulating tapes and industrial tapes. Nitto Denko, a Japanese-owned company, has two factories in Taiwan with 250 employees. ¶3. (U) Both Tomokazu Himura and Chun-lin Chen of Nitto Denko were cooperative and confirmed receipt of one Thermo Tracer unit (Type TH7102WX, Serial No. 3011006) in July 2003. During the production process, the thermo tracer is used to monitor the temperature of the PVC tape. AIT/K personnel physically inspected the thermo tracer and were allowed to photograph the controlled item. Nitto Denko also provided AIT/K with copies of the relevant invoice and airway bill. ¶4. (U) All indications were that the thermo tracer has been used in accordance with the export license. AIT's visit disclosed no adverse information about the firm and its suitability to receive sensitive U.S. products. ¶5. (SBU) According to internal AIT/K records, it may be worth noting that a US affiliated company of Nitto Denko (Japan) was the subject of an investigation in 1989 involving suspected violation of trade valuation laws. However, the case appears unrelated to the Kaohsiung subsidiary's suitability to receive sensitive US products. THIELE YOUNG