On May 14, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) published the Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 Investigation (“Report”), which addresses the four-year review of China-related tariffs under Section...more
On April 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which is the first substantive...more
The U.S. Department of Commerce amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), effective March 15, 2024, to move Nicaragua from Country Group B to Country Group D, and added it to the list of countries subject to the...more
New Tri-Seal Compliance Note highlights sanctions and export control compliance expectations for non-U.S. persons.
Three agencies overseeing U.S. trade law compliance provided an overview of where U.S. sanctions and export...more
3/27/2024
/ Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Direct Product Rule ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Trade Relations ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury
FinCEN is focused on customer due diligence, and both the 2024 Investment Adviser Risk Assessment and proposed rule indicate that investment advisers will be expected to assess customer identity, business model, and sources...more
3/15/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
CDD ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Due Diligence ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
No-Action Letters ,
Popular ,
Private Funds ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Assessment ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFMA ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Technology Sector
On January 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of State announced the redesignation of the Yemen-based Ansarallah (commonly referred to as the “Houthis”) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization (SDGT). The decision...more
On November 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $206,213 settlement with Swift Prepaid Solutions, Inc. d/b/a daVinci Payments (daVinci) for apparent violations of...more
Following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has undertaken several initial sanctions steps to counter terrorist financing and call attention to...more
How should companies think about DOJ, BIS and OFAC voluntary disclosure in the wake of the DOJ’s massive investment in sanctions and export control enforcement?
The DOJ, BIS and OFAC released a joint compliance note...more
8/4/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Embargo ,
Enforcement ,
Export Controls ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
White-Collar Exemptions
In a new enforcement action against GM, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division emphasizes that employers subject to export control obligations must still comply with federal laws against discrimination on the...more
5/23/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Verify ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Title VII
The proposed rule tightens restrictions on activities by “affiliates” and clarifies scope of statutory clawbacks.
The Department of Commerce released a proposed rule imposing guardrails preventing the “improper use of...more
4/3/2023
/ China ,
Clawbacks ,
FCC ,
Foreign Entities ,
Investment ,
Manufacturers ,
National Security ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Semiconductors ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Can a new Department of Justice enforcement approach make clawback policies covering criminal activities a best practice?
The DOJ is implementing a new policy under which prosecutors will make clawback policies for...more
3/8/2023
/ Clawbacks ,
Compensation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement ,
Incentives ,
Risk Management ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
Complying with directives from Main Justice, the USAOs have announced a new policy designed to incentivize voluntary self-disclosure of corporate misconduct.
To receive credit for self-disclosure, disclosures must be...more
This post marks the third entry in our Year-in-Review series. For prior posts, click here. Many of the first measures that the United States, European Union and United Kingdom collectively took against Russia in 2022 related...more
This post marks the second entry in our Year-in-Review series. For prior posts, click here. Few sectors have been more affected by the sanctions on Russia than the energy industry....more
On February 24, 2022, the United States (U.S.), European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), and other countries issued a barrage of sanctions against the Russian financial sector, cutting off many major banks from the global...more
On December 5, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced a $60 per barrel price cap on maritime transfers of Russian-origin crude oil. The final cap level is being implemented...more
Various reports indicate that the Group of Seven nations (G7) will announce its initial capped price for Russian-origin crude oil transported by maritime means (“seaborne”) this week. The cap will come into effect on December...more
On October 24, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Department of State (State) announced new sanctions designations for Nicaragua, targeting a key state mining company and...more
On October 7, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule (the “Rule”) imposing sweeping new export controls targeting certain advanced computing integrated...more
On September 29, 2022, the U.S. government took an important step in its efforts to increase transparency, combat shell companies, and limit abuse of entities and trusts formed under U.S. state law. The U.S. Treasury...more
In the final few days of September, the U.S. and global allies issued a number of sanctions and export controls against actors who have supported Russia’s referendums in Ukraine and related attempts to annex four Ukrainian...more
Russian government approval is now required for Western companies to exit LLCs, which complicates and will likely delay exit strategies.
High-profile projects and industries, such as Sakhalin-2, continue to be targeted by...more
Takeaways - The G7 has announced consensus on a price cap for Russian origin oil and petroleum products to be implemented across a wide coalition of countries....more
On August 15, 2022, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an interim final rule introducing new controls on four “emerging and foundational technologies” that were identified during the...more