On December 18, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced the addition of 77 new entities, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (“SMIC”), to the Entity List. ...more
2/12/2021
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Licensing Rules ,
Military End Use ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Semiconductors
In response to a U.S. government consensus that trade with China involves grave national security risks, the Trump Administration promulgated a broad series of China-directed export controls, economic sanctions and import...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocking Statutes ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Human Rights ,
Infrastructure ,
Military End Use ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Trade Policies
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
Today the U.S. Commerce Department published an interim final rule to amend the so-called direct product rule of the Export Administration Regulations to target certain transfers of items tied to Huawei and Huawei entities...more
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") issued final regulations on January 13, 2020 to comprehensively implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 ("FIRRMA") (the...more
1/21/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Change of Control ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Filing Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Security ,
New Regulations ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sensitive Personal Information
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
On November 27, 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) published a proposed rule, “Securing the Information and Communication Technology and Services Supply Chain,” that would implement Executive Order 13873 of...more
12/23/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Factoring Transactions ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
National Security ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has published proposed regulations that, when finalized, will...more
9/30/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Personal Data ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Real Estate Market ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Technology Sector
On November 19, 2018, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") published a notice of proposed rulemaking requesting public comment on the U.S. government's process for identifying "emerging...more
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
On August 13, 2018, the United States enacted the Export Control Reform Act and the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”) to...more
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
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 15, 2018, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") imposed a "denial order" against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation ("ZTE Corporation") and ZTE Kangxun...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
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
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
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
Crucial Points -
- The U.S. government has, by and large, left in place its embargo generally forbidding U.S. companies, citizens and residents, and others in the United States to engage in Iran-related...more
Last week, U.S. authorities settled criminal charges against a subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd. and civil claims against PayPal, Inc. Federal authorities alleged that these companies violated U.S. embargoes and other economic...more
4/9/2015
/ Criminal Sanctions ,
Felonies ,
Iran ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
PayPal ,
Plea Agreements ,
Popular ,
Sanctions ,
Schlumberger ,
SDN List ,
Sudan ,
Syria
On July 16, 2014, the United States announced another expansion of sanctions in response to events in southern and eastern Ukraine. The United States for the first time imposed sanctions against major Russian companies and...more
In response to Russia's actions relating to Crimea, the United States and the European Union have expanded their lists of sanctioned parties and their legal bases for broader sanctions. These sanctions are beginning to...more