The UK government has issued an updated Open General Export Licence for the Export of Dual-Use items to EU Member States (which also previously covered exports to Iceland and the Channel Islands) (the “OGEL”) to allow export...more
The UK has expanded its export controls regime to include a number of key emerging technologies, including in relation to semiconductors and quantum technology. These changes take effect on 1 April 2024, following which an...more
Building on the European Security Strategy of June 2023, the European Commission on January 24, 2024, adopted a package of five initiatives aiming to enhance the EU’s economic security. The package contains a far-reaching...more
2/7/2024
/ EU ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Greenfield Projects ,
Harmonization Rules ,
Investment ,
Member State ,
OECD
M&A activity in 2023 was subdued, as dealmakers grappled with geopolitical tensions, inflation, rising interest rates, and increasing regulatory scrutiny, against a backdrop of general economic uncertainty. Challenges in the...more
1/4/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CFIUS ,
Data Security ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Shareholder Activism ,
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
As Russia’s war in Ukraine passes the one-year mark, and the battles on the ground move forward with escalating levels of ferocity, governments around the world continue to coordinate and respond with increasingly severe...more
3/3/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Central Bank of Russia ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
As Russia’s war in Ukraine stretches into its tenth month, governments around the world continue to coordinate and respond with increasingly severe sanctions and export controls....more
12/7/2022
/ Crude Oil ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
As Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine nears the end of its second month, with regular reports of human rights violations, possible chemical weapons attacks, and head of state musings regarding whether this campaign amounts...more
4/18/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Relations ,
Japan ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
Ukraine
As Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine stretches on into its second month, the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, and other global allies have continued to pour additional funding and arms into Ukraine while...more
3/23/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Funding ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SWIFT ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
US Department of State
After less than a week of a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, the post-Cold War global architecture appears irrevocably shattered, as Western nations line up to offer support and military and economic aid to Ukraine...more
3/1/2022
/ Airspace ,
Asset Freeze ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
G7 ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SWIFT ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
United States
On April 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts (collectively, “DOJ”) announced that DOJ entered into a precedent-setting...more
One of the widest-ranging bills of the U.S. Congress’s legislative year, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA), is nearing the finish line as both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the...more
12/15/2020
/ CAATSA ,
China ,
Export Controls ,
Hong Kong ,
NATO ,
NDAA ,
Pentagon ,
Pipelines ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey ,
US Department of State
As it nears the end of the calendar and legislative year, Congress is preparing to take long-awaited action to kill Russia’s Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream natural gas pipeline projects – months before Nord Stream 2’s...more
As another sign of the escalating tensions between the United States and China, in addition to the long-running trade war, China this week suspended visits to Hong Kong by the U.S. military and vowed to impose sanctions on a...more
As another sign of the escalating tensions between the United States and China, in addition to the long-running trade war, China this week suspended visits to Hong Kong by the U.S. military and vowed to impose sanctions on a...more
On October 23, 2019, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced it was removing three Turkish government ministers and two Turkish government ministries from its list of Specially Designated...more
On October 14, President Trump issued an Executive order (“E.O.”) imposing sanctions on Turkey in response to Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria. New E.O. 13894 authorizes the U.S. Departments of State and the...more
As part of the 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks earlier this month, the Trump Administration effectively declared the old adage that “one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter” does not apply with...more
Nearly a quarter century after its passage, the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996 – commonly known as Helms-Burton, after its sponsors – was expected to revive a significant number of old disputes...more
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has a well-earned reputation in the sanctions bar for ruining weekends. The agency responsible for implementing and enforcing U.S. economic sanctions has...more
On May 2, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published its first-ever Framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments (“Framework”), detailing the essential components of a sanctions...more
Back in February, we told you about the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act, or “DASKA,” a bipartisan effort to impose new sanctions on Russia. Interest in action against the Kremlin has only increased...more
With tensions rising in the Persian Gulf, and Iran on the brink of pulling out of portions of the Iran nuclear deal, President Trump issued new Executive Order 13871 last Wednesday, May 8, 2019, imposing sanctions on Iran’s...more
The EU has recently laid the ground to take a more active role in the screening of foreign direct investment (FDI). On April 10, 2019, the EU formally established a framework for foreign investment screening including a...more
Three weeks ago, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (the “E3”) created INSTEX SAS (Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges, INSTEX), an entity designed to enhance business between the EU and Iran and to serve as a core...more
Executive Summary -
On November 5, 2018, the United States enacted the second of two powerful phases of the “snap-back” of Iran sanctions, re-imposing sanctions that were lifted by the United States in 2016 as a result of...more