On January 5, 2021, President Trump issued Executive Order 13971 (the “Executive Order”) that provides for prohibitions on U.S. persons engaging in transactions with persons that develop or control any of the following eight...more
1/11/2021
/ China ,
Data Collection ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Social Media ,
Software ,
Trump Administration
Late last week, a Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order granting a motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction forbidding implementation of sanctions against...more
9/21/2020
/ China ,
Data Collection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
First Amendment ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration
Last week, the Department of Commerce took steps to implement sanctions targeting China’s mobile applications WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd. (“WeChat Sanctions”), and TikTok, owned by ByteDance Ltd. (“ByteDance”)...more
The U.S. government is expanding international trade restraints against Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (“Huawei”) and its affiliates in an effort to further restrict Huawei’s access to U.S. technologies.....more
8/20/2020
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Huawei ,
National Security ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration
As noted in our recent alert, President Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (“HKAA”) on July 14, 2020. On the same day, the President also issued an Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization (the “Executive...more
Yesterday, after unanimous passage by the U.S. Congress, President Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (“HKAA”) in retaliation against China for it's “Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong...more
On May 1, 2020, the President issued Executive Order 13920, “Securing the United States Bulk-Power System” (“E.O. 13920”) to address what the Trump Administration considers to be national security threats to the U.S....more
6/17/2020
/ Bulk Electric System ,
CFIUS ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Suppliers ,
National Security ,
Power Purchase Agreements ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration
On May 1, 2020, the President issued Executive Order 13920, “Securing the United States Bulk-Power System (“E.O. 13920”),” to authorize restrictions on “bulk-power system electric equipment” if there is a connection to a...more
It has been an active last week in the world of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). In addition to CFIUS’s publication of proposed regulations that would impose filing fees for parties’...more
With new Iran-related sanctions, the U.S. government is making good on threats to give third-country companies a choice – participate in the U.S. market or participate in the Iranian market.
...more
1/13/2020
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Blocked Person ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Steel Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (“NDAA 2020”), which includes numerous sanctions-related provisions. The law includes the previously introduced...more
1/2/2020
/ Aircraft ,
Aircraft Equipment ,
Aircraft Sales ,
CAATSA ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Persons ,
Foreign Relations ,
Germany ,
Huawei ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
National Security ,
Natural Gas ,
NDAA ,
North Korea ,
Oil & Gas ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Patriot Act ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
Strict Compliance ,
Supply Chain ,
Syria ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
United Nations
As described in our prior alert, November 5, 2018 marked the full return ("snapback") of U.S. Iran-related sanctions measures lifted or waived pursuant to the Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or...more
11/13/2018
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration
Building on prior extensive Russia-related sanctions, the U.S. government has further sanctioned Russia by intensifying controls on exports and reexports to the country. Alone, this step is unlikely to affect major volumes of...more
Congress has agreed upon two pieces of legislation soon to be signed by the President that will provide for a major expansion in the (i) screening by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") of...more
8/6/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Export Control Reform (ECR) ,
Exports ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
Investment Funds ,
Jurisdiction ,
Licenses ,
National Security ,
Pending Legislation ,
Popular ,
Screening Procedures ,
Technology Sector ,
Technology Transfer Agreements ,
Trump Administration
Harry Clark, Ellen Murphy, Matthew Moses and Elizabeth Morgan co-authored an article for Law360 examining an advisory recently issued by the U.S. Department of State that aims to help U.S. businesses manage the risk of...more
In response to the latest U.S. economic sanctions, Russia adopted a law that gives the Russian President a broad authorization to retaliate for foreign sanctions. However, while this law makes a political statement, it does...more
Crucial Points -
Previously Lifted or Waived Sanctions Measures Coming Back Into Effect: On May 8, 2018, the U.S. President terminated U.S. participation in the Iran nuclear agreement. As a result, U.S. Iran-related...more
On April 6, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") expanded U.S. sanctions relating to Russia by "blocking" seven prominent Russian businessmen, 12 companies, 17 senior Russian...more
On April 3, the Office of the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") identified hundreds of Chinese products against which it proposes to impose 25 percent import duties under Sections 301 and 304 of the Trade Act of...more
4/6/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
China ,
Imports ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR ,
WTO
President Trump has issued a proclamation providing for additional 25 percent tariffs on imports of certain steel products and 10 percent tariffs on imports of certain aluminum products. The Administration's position is that...more
3/12/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
China ,
Global Market ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Manufacturers ,
National Security ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On January 29, 2018, the U.S. government released a nonclassified part of a report on senior political figures and oligarchs in Russia (the "Report"). The U.S. Department of the Treasury prepared the Report in consultation...more
Further to our three prior alerts (June, September and November 2017), this alert is to update clients and friends on the proceeding under section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 regarding imports of crystalline solar...more
1/26/2018
/ Clean Energy ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Imports ,
Photovoltaic ,
Renewable Energy ,
Section 201 ,
Solar Energy ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
USITC
Russia-Related Sanctions Codification: The new law codifies sanctions executive orders related to circumstances in Ukraine and Crimea as well as certain cyber-enabled activities, restricting the U.S. President's authority to...more
8/22/2017
/ Crimea ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Authority ,
Firearms ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Iran Sanctions ,
New Legislation ,
North Korea ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine
With the first 100 days of the Trump administration just underway, President Trump has already taken steps to fulfill his campaign promises and renegotiate or withdraw from various U.S. trade deals, including the...more
3/31/2017
/ Cross-Border Transactions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
WTO
On December 2, President Obama, acting under the Exon-Florio law, blocked the planned acquisition by China's Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund LP ("Fujian Grand Chip"), a Chinese investment fund, of the U.S. operations of...more
12/9/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defense Production Act ,
Exon-Florio ,
Foreign Entities ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
Germany ,
Investment Funds ,
National Security ,
Obama Administration ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Transition Team ,
Trump Administration