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July 19, 2000 9:25 AM, EDT

Trucking companies that don’t watch who they do business with internationally could be setting themselves up for civil or criminal penalties under a new federal law that took effect in December.

For trucking companies that do business across the border or overseas, this is a neon warning sign, said Brent Gurney, an attorney with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C.

Gurney, who has been doing research for clients on the new law, said it “has potentially big implications for the trucking industry.”

Under provisions of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act of 1999, the White House submitted a list of drug dealers to Congress on June 1. Americans are forbidden to do business with any of the individuals, and steps will be taken to freeze the dealers’ assets. Other names and businesses will be added to the list in a annual report to Congress from the president.

For the full story, see the July 17 print edition of Transport Topics. .