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Department of Commerce Takes Action Against Avnet Asia for Involvement in Illegally Transshipping Sensitive U.S. Commodities to China and Iran

On January 29, 2021, Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced an Administrative Settlement of $3.2 million (partially suspended) with Singapore-based Avnet Asia Pte. Ltd. (Avnet Asia), a global distributor of electronic components and related software.… Continue Reading

Indonesian Company Admits To Deceiving U.S. Banks In Order To Trade With North Korea

PT Bukit Muria Jaya (“BMJ”), a global supplier of cigarettes, has agreed to pay a fine of more than $1.5 million and to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with the shipment of products to North Korean customers.… Continue Reading

President Trump Uses Executive Power to Target Reverse Discrimination in Federal Contracting

What are the implications? What practical steps should US government contractors take? Our multidisciplinary team provides an overview of President Trump’s Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, its labor law implications, potential for litigation, and practical guidance for federal contractors. Continue reading here.… Continue Reading

BIS Sunsets License Exception (CIV) for Civil End Uses in Countries in Group D:1

On April 28, 2020, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register a Final Rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR, subchapter C, parts 730-774) by removing License Exception Civil End Users (CIV) (§ 740.5), which authorized the unlicensed export, reexport, and transfer (in-country) of … Continue Reading

BIS Expands Export, Reexport and Transfer (In-Country) Controls for Military End Use or Military End Users in China, Russia or Venezuela

On April 28, 2020, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register a Final Rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), 15 CFR parts 730-774. This new rule critically expands the licensing requirements for exports, reexports and transfers (in-country) of items subject to the EAR in three … Continue Reading

US Officials Finalize Passenger Travel Restrictions in Response to COVID-19

Effective at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Friday, March 20, 2020 the United States limited non-essential travel across its northern and southern borders through April 20, 2020. The decision comes following negotiations with Canada and Mexico in response to the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).  The restrictions target passengers, not cargo.  Administration officials continue … Continue Reading

US Department of State Imposes Visa Restrictions on Chinese Officials for Repression in Xinjiang

On October 8, 2019, the Secretary of State announced visa restrictions on Chinese government and Communist Party officials believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the detention or abuse of Uighurs, Kazakhs or other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang, China. Family members of named persons may also be subject to these restrictions. The visa restrictions support the Department … Continue Reading

OFAC Enters Settlement With The General Electric Company for Violations of Cuba Sanctions

In early October, OFAC announced a US$2,718,581 settlement with The General Electric Company (GE) of Boston, Massachusetts. GE, on behalf of three GE subsidiaries, Getsco Technical Services Inc., Bentley Nevada and GE Betz (collectively, the “GE Companies”), agreed to settle its potential civil liability for 289 alleged violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR). Specifically, between December 2010 and February … Continue Reading

Trump Administration Authorizes Sanctions on Turkey

Responding to Turkey’s actions in Syria, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) blocking property and suspending entry of certain persons contributing to the situation in Syria. Pursuant to the EO, OFAC added three Turkish government officials and two Turkish government agencies, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) … Continue Reading

OFAC Implements Sanctions on Nicaragua

On September 4, 2019, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of  Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published in the Federal Register a new final rule on the Nicaragua Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 582 (Nicaragua Regulations), which implement Executive Order (EO) 13851 of November 27, 2018, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Nicaragua”. The Nicaragua Regulations mirror the substance … Continue Reading

CFIUS Authority Expanded Via FIRRMA Implementing Regulations

UPDATE:  An annotated form of the full list of covered investment critical infrastructure and functions related to covered investment critical infrastructure as proposed by CFIUS that is referenced below is now available under the CFIUS Resources section of this blog. On September 17, 2019, the US Department of the Treasury issued proposed regulations to implement the … Continue Reading

US-Russia: Anticorruption, Sanctions, Counter-sanctions and Compliance for Companies Doing Business – Webinar Presentation Material – Russian Counter-sanction Legislation

Russian Counter-sanctions: Bill Introduced to Criminalize Dissemination of Information That May Result in Introduction or Expansion of Sanctions Against Russian Persons Following our recent webinar, our Moscow Team prepared an analysis of a draft Russian legislation that would prohibit media communications that reveal non-compliance with sanctions or facilitate imposition of sanctions and would also impose criminal … Continue Reading

US Commerce Department Offers Huawei and Affiliated Suppliers Interim Reprieve by Granting Temporary General License Until August 2019

On May 22, 2019, the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is expected to publish in the Federal Register a Final Rule creating a 90-day Temporary General License (TGL) for Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei) and the 68 affiliated Huawei entities (collectively, the “Huawei Listed Companies”) that were added to the … Continue Reading

Trump Secures US Telecom Supply Chain with Executive Order; Related Huawei Actions

On May 15, 2019, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) titled “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain.” The long-awaited EO addresses the use in US communications networks of technologies from certain types of foreign companies.… Continue Reading

Commerce Extends Deadline for Public Comments to Export Controls on Emerging Technologies to January 2019

UPDATE:  BIS is extending the public comments deadline on emerging technology export controls from December 19 this year to January 10, 2019, per an unpublished Federal Register notice released on December 13. The proposed rule will officially appear in the Federal Register on December 14. Posted on November 26, 2018 On November 19, 2018, the US … Continue Reading

CFIUS Pilot Program: New Mandatory Filings for Non-passive Foreign Investments

On October 10, 2018, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) issued an interim rule, set to take effect on November 10, 2018, creating a “Pilot Program” that will require certain non-passive foreign investments to file an abbreviated “Declaration” filing with CFIUS. The rule is currently open for comments until November 10.… Continue Reading

CFIUS Reform: Understanding FIRRMA

On August 14, 2018, legislation reforming the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), and dual-use export controls, the Export Controls Reform Act (ECRA), were signed into law as part of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (NDAA) (H.R. … Continue Reading

Chinese Technology Companies Named to Entity List, Blocked from US Exports

The Trump Administration has added eight Chinese entities and 36 of their subsidiaries to the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry Security’s (BIS) Entity List. Per the final rule published in the Federal Register on August 2, 2018, “[t]he entities that are being added to the Entity List have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary … Continue Reading

CFIUS Reform: House and Senate Committees Unanimously Clear Bills That Would Greatly Expand CFIUS Authority

On May 22, shortly before the US Memorial Day holiday weekend, the US House and Senate committees with jurisdictions over foreign investments in the US unanimously passed their respective legislations that would greatly expand the authority bestowed on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The bipartisan, bicameral effort introduced the Foreign … Continue Reading
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