In what has become a truism of U.S. politics over decades, a first-term president's political party typically does not fare well in the midterm elections. With President Joe Biden's approval ratings at a nadir, his domestic...more
On December 23, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”). Most notably, the UFLPA strengthens the enforcement of Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by imposing a rebuttable...more
1/7/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Child Labor ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Export Controls ,
Forced Labor ,
Goods or Services ,
Human Rights ,
Imports ,
New Legislation ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Supply Chain
Following its efforts in recent years to enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq. (FARA)) more rigorously and transparently, for the first time in nearly 15 years, the U.S. Department of...more
On November 17, 2021, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement announcing a bicameral agreement to conference the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). This...more
On 15 April 2021, the U.S. Government announced a number of new sanctions measures against Russia, targeting a variety of “harmful foreign activities” contrary to U.S. foreign policy. ...more
4/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Crimea ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Defense Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
SolarWinds ,
Sovereign Debt ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Technology Contracts
On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, Americans chose the presidency and the makeup of the United States Congress. With the U.S. election now decided, with the exception of the Georgia Senate races, we are delighted to share with you...more
12/29/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreign Investment ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Presidential Elections ,
Public Transportation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Tax Reform
The State Department announced the imposition of sanctions on the Republic of Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (“SSB”), and four related Turkish individuals under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through...more
Election 2020 Snapshot: Helping our aerospace and defense (A&D) clients make sense of the U.S. election - The election of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States likely will result in significant shifts in U.S....more
11/18/2020
/ Aerospace ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Defense Sector ,
Infrastructure ,
Innovative Technology ,
NASA ,
Policy Drafting ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Research and Development ,
Supply Chain
As we proceed into August, pressure continues to mount for Congress to provide additional relief to Americans impacted by the physical and economic fallout from the pandemic. Chief drivers of the potential stimulus package...more
On 14 July, the same day the president signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (the act), President Trump issued the Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization (the EO) directing federal agencies to impose a range of trade...more
On June 5, H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the PPP Flexibility Act or Act), was signed into law. The bill had previously passed the House and Senate with strong bipartisan votes.
Please see full...more
Businesses across the United States have been battered by the COVID-19 crisis and many companies have been the recipients of unprecedented levels of economic assistance and tax relief under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and...more
With an interim relief measure, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Health Care Enhancement Act, now signed into law, the jockeying over a CARES 2.0 stimulus package has begun. What follows is a thumbnail sketch of the...more
On April 23, the Federal Reserve Board vowed to report information every month regarding the participants of lending and liquidity facilities it has established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act...more
4/24/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business
On 26 November 2019 the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a long-awaited proposed rule (or draft regulations) to implement Executive Order 13873, "Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply...more
11/27/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Imports ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Recent actions by the U.S. Department of State underscore the Trump administration's efforts to use a "whole of government" approach to address perceived national security threats posed by China.
While these actions do not...more
On 4 September 2019 the U.S. State Department issued "Draft 'U.S. Government Guidance for the Export of Hardware, Software and Technology with Surveillance Capabilities and/or parts/know-how'" (draft guidance).
...more
9/12/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Practices ,
Big Data ,
Comment Period ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Draft Guidance ,
Drones ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Human Rights ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Social Media ,
Software Developers ,
Spyware ,
Surveillance ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
US State Departments
On 28 January 2019, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) as a Specially Designated National (SDN) for operating in the oil sector of the...more
On 5 November 2018 the United States re-imposed the remaining nuclear-related secondary sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against Iran that previously had...more
11/8/2018
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITSR ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
SDN List ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Trump Administration
The Department of the Treasury has released two new interim rules that (i) update existing regulations regarding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) pursuant to the Foreign Investment Risk Review...more
After nearly 20 years of promulgation by executive orders, bipartisan export control reform legislation has re-established a permanent statutory basis for the control of commercial and dual-use items licensed by the...more
On 8 August, the U.S. Department of State announced that new sanctions would be imposed on Russia pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act). The sanctions relate to...more
The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), included in the reconciled Conference Report of the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act, substantially expands the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign...more
8/6/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Amended Rules ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Defense Production Act ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Funds ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
NDAA ,
Private Equity ,
Venture Capital
Congress has moved closer to expanding the jurisdiction and powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the U.S. interagency committee that conducts national security reviews of foreign...more
8/2/2018
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Passive Activity ,
Pending Legislation ,
Trump Administration
Driven by concerns of China’s acquisition of advanced U.S. technologies, the U.S. Congress is set to enact the most significant reform to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in over a decade....more
6/29/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Covered Transactions ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Passive Investments ,
Pending Legislation ,
Trump Administration