Executive Summary - On March 2, 2021, the Biden Administration, in a coordinated announcement by the U.S. Departments of Treasury, State, and Commerce, tightened export restrictions against Russia and imposed sanctions and...more
3/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Chemical Weapons ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime ,
Human Rights ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) on October 5, 2020, published a final rule implementing new export controls on six categories of emerging technology. In doing so, the U.S. government...more
President Trump signed into law the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”) on August 13, 2018. FIRRMA made several substantial changes to the CFIUS process and expanded the scope of the...more
9/22/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exports ,
Final Rules ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Mandatory Declarations ,
NAICS ,
Non-US Entities ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (“the Notice”), on August 27, 2020, announcing the initiation of its review of foundational technologies...more
9/5/2020
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Commodities ,
ECCNs ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Popular ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Request For Information ,
Software ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The U.S.-China trade war continues to escalate, most recently fueled by U.S. concerns over China’s assertion of increasing authority over Hong Kong. The U.S. and Chinese governments have exchanged jabs through the use of...more
7/17/2020
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exceptions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Free Speech ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Freedom of the Press ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA) ,
Human Rights ,
Open General Export Licences (OGELs) ,
Popular ,
Revocation ,
Right to Peaceful Assembly ,
SDN List ,
Section 301 ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Wars ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
United States
On April 28, 2020, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published two final rules and one proposed rule targeting national security controlled exports and reexports to China, Russia, and...more
4/30/2020
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Commerce Control List ,
ECCNs ,
End-Users ,
Exemptions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Final Rules ,
Licensing Rules ,
Military End Use ,
National Security ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US Trade Policies ,
Venezuela
Key Takeaways
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) issued a regulation allowing companies to export personal protective equipment (“PPE”) in 10 defined circumstances discussed below.
- U.S. Customs and...more
4/22/2020
/ Border Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Delays ,
Duties ,
Executive Orders ,
Exemptions ,
Exports ,
FEMA ,
Imports ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Relief Measures ,
State of Emergency ,
Tariff Act of 1930 ,
Time Extensions ,
Trump Administration
The outbreak of COVID-19 is impacting international trade as global markets deal with uncertain supply and companies and governments work to ensure personal safety while developing contingency plans for handling the virus. In...more
3/12/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
General Licenses ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Supplies ,
Multinationals ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Management ,
Sanction Violations ,
Supply Chain
On January 15, 2020, U.S. President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a Phase 1 trade deal between the countries. The agreement includes a pledge from China to increase its imports of U.S. goods and services by...more
1/17/2020
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anti-Dumping Duty ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Counterfeit Goods Regulation ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Exports ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Goods or Services ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Subsidies ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Transfer Agreements ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Negotiations ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trade Wars ,
Trademarks ,
Trump Administration ,
United States ,
WTO
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) published an interim final rule on December 26, 2019, bringing the International Traffic in Arms Regulations’ (“ITAR”) treatment of encrypted electronic...more
1/9/2020
/ Cloud Computing ,
Defense Sector ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Encryption ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Persons ,
ITAR ,
Licensing Rules
On December 13, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a new policy for companies that voluntarily disclose potential criminal violations of U.S. sanctions and export control laws to the DOJ’s National Security...more
12/21/2019
/ Aggravating Factors ,
Amended Rules ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cooperation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Remediation ,
Sanction Violations ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Successor Liability ,
Voluntary Disclosure
Throughout his presidency, President Trump has used tariffs – and the threat of tariffs – to address an unprecedented variety of economic and national security threats. As if to underscore the point, on December 2, 2019, the...more
12/5/2019
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Argentina ,
Brazil ,
China ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Country of Origin ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Digital Services Tax ,
Duties ,
Exports ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Foreign Trade Zones ,
France ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Mexico ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariff Classifications ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR ,
WTO
The U.S. Government has instituted a major new initiative to regulate emerging technology, potentially including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, data analytics and many other types of emerging technology,...more
11/19/2018
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biotechnology ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Commerce Control List ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Export Control Reform (ECR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Investment ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Public Comment ,
Research and Development ,
Robotics ,
Trump Administration
On November 5, 2018, applicable wind-down periods for certain transactions with Iran ended and the second and final set of U.S. secondary sanctions that had been lifted pursuant to the Iran nuclear deal – the Joint...more
11/7/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Exports ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Petroleum ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Shipping ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
Trump Administration
The United States, Canada and Mexico on September 30 announced the framework for a new, revised trade agreement to replace NAFTA, called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (the “USMCA”)....more
10/12/2018
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
Canada ,
Countervailing Duties ,
CPTPP ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Exports ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
Investor Protection ,
Investor-State Arbitration ,
Mexico ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
NAFTA ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
On August 24, 2018, the U.S. Department of State announced a new but limited export licensing policy for defense and national security-sensitive goods and technology to Russia, effective August 27, 2018. The export licensing...more
8/27/2018
/ Chemical Weapons ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Government Officials ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
UK ,
US State Departments
The United States put into effect new tariffs on July 6, 2018, on roughly US$34 billion in Chinese products. In response, the Chinese government instituted retaliatory tariffs on a comparable quantity of U.S. products....more
7/6/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Canada ,
China ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mexico ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
USTR
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced 25% tariffs on Chinese goods on June 15, targeting industrial goods that amount to roughly US$34 billion in annual exports to the United States, with a review underway for an...more
6/18/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Canada ,
China ,
Classifications of Goods ,
Country of Origin ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mexico ,
Risk Management ,
Section 301 ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
USTR ,
Valuation
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued updated general licenses and related guidance in connection with sanctions imposed in April on certain Russian individuals and entities...more