US citizens: If you want NOKO jeans you need to go through OFAC

NOKO Jeans are finally for sale on their web page here.  However they include a not-so-subtle warning to American shoppers:

Important regarding ordering from the USA: at this time, goods of North Korean origin may not be imported into the United States either directly or indirectly without prior notification to and approval of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). You need to apply for this in order to import goods produced in North Korea. Contact OFAC here: http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/. It is the buyer’s responsibility to get this approval.

OFACS is the same outfit that is supposed to go after you if you visit Cuba.  I am not recommending you do so, but it semes to me that it would just be a lot easier to have a friend in Europe order them for you…

Read previous NOKO posts here.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 4:15 pm and is filed under Clothing, Labor conditions/wages, Manufacturing, Sweden. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “US citizens: If you want NOKO jeans you need to go through OFAC”

  1. Joshua Stanton says:
    December 10, 2009 at 10:01 pm

    It’s actually OFAC – Office of Foreign Asset Control.

    While I’m not sure whether one overpriced pair of pants is likely to invite prosecution, I would urge extreme caution in believing that ordering via a European friend would get you around OFAC rules. Treasury is one of those parts of our government that actually operates with ruthless efficiency (IRS, anyone?).

  2. NKeconWatch says:
    December 10, 2009 at 10:43 pm

    Thanks for spotting the typo. Fixed.

    The pants are already a bit out of my price range. Once I factor in time spent begging Uncle Sam to import a pair of jeans they are way out of my price range.

    Are their country of origin rules for gifts? Especially under $500? Since it does not affect me, I have no intention of looking it up.