On May 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which leads the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), announced plans to establish a fast-track process for foreign investors, including...more
Companies are facing a unique trade market. President Trump has announced various tariffs, including additional tariffs on China, the on-again, off-again tariffs on Canada and Mexico, auto tariffs, steel and aluminum tariffs,...more
4/22/2025
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Automotive Industry ,
B2B Organizations ,
Canada ,
China ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Mexico ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Termination ,
Trump Administration
This advisory alert is part of an ongoing series from Venable regarding noteworthy developments in trade laws expected in 2025....more
2/3/2025
/ Class Action ,
Common Carriers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exports ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Maritime Transport ,
Policy Statement ,
Ports ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Strike ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs
As anticipated from campaign promises, on Monday, January 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) commencing the process to levy a host of new trade tariffs as part of his "America First Trade Policy." New...more
1/27/2025
/ Canada ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
Mexico ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration
This advisory alert is part of an ongoing series from Venable regarding noteworthy developments in trade laws expected in 2025. An introductory preview article is available here, and an alert about tariffs and trade policies...more
1/13/2025
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Forced Labor ,
International Trade ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
As we look ahead to the new year and the many changes it will bring, the Venable International Trade and Logistics Group will be issuing a series of brief client alerts previewing key trade areas and issues to watch in 2025....more
1/3/2025
/ CFIUS ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Customs ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Forced Labor ,
Imports ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Ocean Transportation System ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
On November 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule enhancing the mitigation monitoring and enforcement tools of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the "Committee")....more
11/25/2024
/ CFIUS ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Filing Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
U.S. Treasury
On October 31, 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued scenario-based guidance specific to the maritime shipping industry....more
11/15/2024
/ Brokers ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Common Carriers ,
Compliance ,
Deceptive Intent ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Evasion ,
Foreign Affiliates ,
Foreign Ownership ,
Freight Forwarding ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Maritime Transport ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ownership Interest ,
Port Authority ,
Ports ,
Registration Requirement ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Shipping ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vessels
On Wednesday, October 16, 2024, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published a Federal Register notice announcing that the agency opened an electronic portal for exclusion requests for "Certain Machinery Used...more
For the first time in almost 50 years, nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) initiated strikes at ports across the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports on October 1, 2024....more
On September 13, the Biden-Harris administration announced new actions to address "significant increased abuse" in the use of the de minimis import exemption. The de minimis import exemption allows low-value shipments (i.e.,...more
9/20/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Certification Requirements ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Exemptions ,
Forced Labor ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
NPRM ,
Section 301 ,
Textiles ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
Consumer products regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may soon be denied entry into the United States unless the importer of record electronically files a detailed product certification with the...more
Typically, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the U.S. Department of Commerce administers export controls on end users by designating those persons on one of its public screening lists—e.g., the Unverified List,...more
Recently, Venable's Government Division offered its general thoughts on the fallout from the Supreme Court's reversal of the long standing Chevron deference principle. Here, the International Trade and Logistics Group offers...more
7/30/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Chevron Deference ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Foreign Policy ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Separation of Powers ,
Stare Decisis ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
USTR
On May 14, 2024, President Biden announced new trade tariffs on goods from China, aimed at protecting American workers and businesses. The measure imposes tariffs between 25% and 100% of the value of the imported item,...more
As the lead agency for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the Committee), the U.S. Department of the Treasury released new proposed rules on April 11, 2024 intended to enhance the enforcement...more
5/6/2024
/ Administrative Procedure ,
CFIUS ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Comment Period ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Authority ,
FIRRMA ,
Jurisdiction ,
Mitigation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
U.S. Treasury
Common carriers and marine terminal operators must start reviewing their current demurrage and detention billing process to ensure that their business practices fully comply with a new final rule issued by the Federal...more
With the current state of the world and heightened scrutiny of the nonprofit sector, it is critical that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with international reach routinely assess the effectiveness of their trade...more
2/27/2024
/ Compliance ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Internal Controls ,
International Relations ,
International Travel ,
Know Your Customers ,
National Security ,
NGOs ,
Nonprofits ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management
As federal regulators have recently made clear, steamship lines, non-vessel-operating common carriers, indirect air carriers, freight forwarders, and others involved in the global movement of cargo must ensure that their...more
1/24/2024
/ Air Cargo ,
Air Carriers ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Common Carriers ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Freight Forwarding ,
Iran ,
Maritime Transport ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Vessels
Since the outset of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the Biden administration has issued incremental sanctions targeting various sectors of the Russian economy, aimed at curbing Russia's ability to wage war against Ukraine....more
9/28/2023
/ Australia ,
Biden Administration ,
Construction Industry ,
Defense Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Manufacturers ,
Military Conflict ,
New Zealand ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
Ukraine
As members of Congress continue to negotiate government spending levels allotted for the next fiscal year, the United States is poised for its fourth partial government shutdown in the last decade—putting at risk the regular...more
9/26/2023
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Census Bureau ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Government Agencies ,
Government Shutdown ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
U.S. House
On August 9, 2023, the Biden administration issued its long-anticipated executive order (E.O.) that will prohibit, or impose notification requirements on, U.S. investment in a targeted set of advanced technology sectors in...more
Voluntary self-disclosure is a valuable remediation measure for companies who identify their own potential violations of U.S. sanctions, export controls, and other national security laws....more
8/2/2023
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
FinCEN ,
Joint Statements ,
National Security ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Remediation ,
Self-Reporting ,
Totality of Circumstances Test ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers
On May 19, 2023, the United States, in coordination with the G7 and other international partners, imposed significant new sanctions on Russia aimed to further degrade the Russian Federation's capacity to wage war against...more
6/2/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
G7 ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in March that the bloc has nearly exhausted its options for punitive measures against Russia: "There is little left to control other than basic commercial items." The focus...more