On July 14, 2021, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was passed unanimously by the US Senate. It now moves to the House, where it is expected to pass easily – a previous version of the bill passed 406-3 in September 2020. The UFLPA reverses the previously applied burden of proof, creating a presumption … Continue Reading
Status: Clearance Acquirer: OMERS Infrastructure Management Inc. (Canada) Acquired: FS Saguaro, LLC, certain assets, and the Development Business of First Solar, Inc. (US) Value: US$261 million Industry: Energy… Continue Reading
Status: Clearance Acquirer: Clairvest Group Inc. (Canada) Acquired: O&M business of First Solar, Inc. (US) Value: US$213 million Industry: Energy… Continue Reading
For the past 13 years, we have jointly hosted a successful annual workshop series on US export controls regulations with EGADD. In celebration of its 14th anniversary, this September’s workshop will take place immediately after DSEI 2021. This year’s event will also be organized in close partnership with BAE Systems, a major, multinational company that … Continue Reading
On June 10, 2021, the People’s Republic of China adopted the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (the “Law”). The main purpose of the Law is to provide a legal basis for China to adopt retaliatory measures against any so-called “discriminatorily restrictive measures” that may be imposed by foreign countries against Chinese organizations and citizens (the “Foreign Sanctions”).… Continue Reading
A new blog post by our colleague Ludmilla Kasulke examines a recent challenge against a Section 307 detention in federal court in the face of rising enforcement actions by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that prohibit the importation of goods made with forced, indentured, or prison labor. Continue reading here.… Continue Reading
UPDATE: Since our last post below, on April 26, the UK introduced its new global anti-corruption sanctions regime. This sanctions regime follows other EU and UK sanctions regimes and is based on two types of sanctions imposed on listed individuals, i.e., assets freeze and travel ban. On the same day, the UK government also announced … Continue Reading
On April 15, 2021, the US announced a marked expansion of sanctions against Russia and President Biden issued a new Executive Order authorizing the imposition of yet more sanctions. The sanctions include restrictions on certain transactions involving Russian sovereign debt, as well as the designation of 46 individuals and entities implicated in Russia’s annexation of Crimea, foreign … Continue Reading
The US Department of Commerce issued a final rule on April 8, 2021, adding seven Chinese technology companies to the Entity List. The seven companies are:… Continue Reading
International M&A practitioners are used to dealing with CFIUS for any transaction involving assets in the US. The Europeans M&A practitioners are, however, catching up, and many multijurisdictional deals will now face clearance in a number of countries. The latest addition to the list, the UK National Security and Investment Bill, is broad in scope … Continue Reading
On January 15, 2021, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an Interim Final Rule imposing new restrictions requiring licenses for certain transactions involving “military-intelligence end uses” or “military-intelligence end users” in China, Russia, Venezuela or a country listed in Country Group E:1 or E:2. It is important to note … Continue Reading
In the week of February 1, 2021, here are key developments in transatlantic trade: The EU’s COVID-19 vaccine export control mechanism is unable to escape ongoing criticism and a proposal was raised that would invoke Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, increasing UK-EU tension Lawmakers in the US attempt to move the “American Rescue … Continue Reading
** UPDATE: On February 5, 2020, the FAR Council “corrected” the effective date of the Final Rule from January 21, 2021, to January 19, 2021. This alert has been updated accordingly. ** Recent modifications to regulations and federal government acquisition policies portend big change for contractors across the US, and their suppliers around the world. … Continue Reading
This week in transatlantic trade: Countries on both sides of the Atlantic are accelerating their efforts to stave off the spread of the COVID-19 variants by speeding up vaccination and adding travel restrictions The EU intends to increase export transparency on COVID experimental vaccines produced within its boundaries; and the European Commission is going to … Continue Reading
The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) established a foreign investment security review in 2011 that focused exclusively on the merger and acquisition of domestic companies by foreign investors in a notice issued by the State Council (the 2011 Notice)1. On December 19, 2020, the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC) and the Ministry … Continue Reading
On Saturday 9 January 2021, the PRC Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issued MOFCOM Order No. 1 of 2021 on Rules on Counteracting Unjustified Extra-Territorial Applications of Foreign Legislation and Other Measures (the Rules). The Rules specify that they were formulated pursuant to the PRC National Security Law for the express purpose of “counteracting the impact … Continue Reading
After several rounds of revisions, China finally adopted its first Export Control Law (ECL), which went into force on December 1, 2020. In general, we consider the ECL general, vague and hard to be implemented in practice without further adopting implementation rules. It incorporates many concepts from the US export control laws, but with few … Continue Reading
On November 11, 2020, the UK government announced a new NSI regime. Under the new regime, certain direct foreign investments in the UK will require mandatory notification to, and prior approval by, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) before completion.… Continue Reading
On November 12, 2020, the President signed an Executive Order (EO) on “Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies.” The EO generally prohibits any transaction in publicly traded securities, or any securities that are derivative of, or are designed to provide investment exposure to such securities, of any Chinese military … Continue Reading
The latest edition of our transatlantic export controls and sanctions wrap-up is now available. In this publication, we look at the shifting regulatory framework for international trade compliance on both sides of the Atlantic. In this issue, we cover:… Continue Reading
On October 13, 2020 the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued its latest ruling in the long-standing Boeing-Airbus dispute, granting the EU the authority to impose compensatory tariffs totaling up to US$4 billion on US goods in response to allegedly illegal subsidies provided to Boeing. Once again, US exporting companies find themselves in the crosshairs, as … Continue Reading
Status: Clearance Acquirer: ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (Germany) and General Atlantic Coöperatief U.A. (The Netherlands) Acquired: The Meet Group, Inc. (US) Value: $500 million (Approx.) Industry: Software; Information Services… Continue Reading
