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
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
In a rapidly changing business environment, the trade compliance practitioner’s expertise will be needed to safely navigate mergers, acquisitions and different types of partnerships with foreign entities.… Continue Reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Please save-the-date for the upcoming symposium organized by the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) that will cover a range of export control topics.… Continue Reading
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
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
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
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
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
On May 8, 2018, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) completed the process that began in 2015 to change the rules governing its practice and procedures with respect to Section 337 investigations – the investigations that the ITC conducts under 19 U.S.C. § 1337 based on private party complaints against imported articles that allegedly violate … Continue Reading
On May 8, President Trump announced that the US is withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) entered among the P5+1 countries (the US, China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK), the European Union and Iran in July 2015. In our publication, we provide an overview of upcoming changes to US sanctions policy … Continue Reading
On 1 March, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the amendment and reissuance in its entirety of the North Korea Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 510. These regulations were updated to reflect and incorporate the North Korea-related executive orders issued in recent years and additional changes to North Korea-related laws, specifically the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement … Continue Reading
Effective 15 April 2018 until 23 March 2025, the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) imposed a denial order of export privileges against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation of Shenzhen, China (ZTE Corporation) and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. of Hi-New Shenzhen, China (ZTE Kangxun) (collectively, ZTE). Additionally, both entities were added to the BIS Denied Persons List, … Continue Reading
On 6 April, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated seven Russian oligarchs, 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank, pursuant to Executive Order 13661, 13662 and the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). According to the US Department of Treasury, … Continue Reading
The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2017 (S. 2098/H.R. 4311, FIRRMA for short) was introduced in Congress to reform the national security review of foreign acquisitions of US businesses by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the Committee). However, FIRRMA extends well beyond this purpose of reviewing acquisitions … Continue Reading
