Germany's Bosch to pay U.S. $36 million for shipments to China's Huawei

By Karen Freifeld

June 17 (Reuters) - German technology company Robert Bosch agreed to pay $36 million to U.S. authorities for shipping over $70 million worth of sensor products and software for cell phones to China's Huawei, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

Huawei is on a U.S. trade blacklist that requires a license for certain foreign-produced items that are the product of U.S.-origin technology.

Two non-U.S. Bosch subsidiaries exported the goods and software between 2020 and 2024 on over 100 occasions without a license, according to a settlement agreement between the Commerce Department and Bosch.

The violations were "unintentional," Bosch said in a statement.

The U.S. Justice Department agreed to close its related investigation and said it was declining to prosecute the company, which self-disclosed the misconduct.

“This declination reflects the clear benefits for companies that promptly disclose potential violations and fully assist in our investigations,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement.

Bosch agreed to disgorge profits from the transactions at issue to the Justice Department. The company will receive credit in the $36 million Commerce Department settlement for the Justice Department payment, which also was partially suspended, authorities said.

Bosch, headquartered in Stuttgart, is an international technology and services company with nearly 500 subsidiaries and approximately $90 billion in annual revenue in 2024.

In its statement, Bosch said it had enhanced its trade compliance program to prevent future violations.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Daniel Wallis)