The Situation: The EU Blocking Statute prohibits EU operators from complying with certain U.S. sanctions, creating a Catch-22 for EU operators facing two directly opposing legal regimes. Important guidance on the precise...more
The Biden Administration's Executive Order directs the Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission to establish pilot programs to develop product labels that inform consumers about the cybersecurity capacities of...more
The Situation: On May 12, 2021, President Biden issued an "Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity," which calls for "bold" and extensive action designed to update and standardize requirements and procedures...more
The Situation: Non-fungible tokens are an emerging digital asset class that present a unique set of commercial, regulatory, and other legal considerations.
The Result: The current U.S. regulatory and legal framework is...more
5/14/2021
/ Art ,
Asset Class ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Online Marketplace ,
Virtual Currency
The Situation: On April 15, 2021, the United States issued a new executive order and related directive imposing additional sanctions on Russia that target dealings in Russian sovereign debt, the technology and defense sectors...more
Cybersecurity risk is evolving and expanding. Traditionally, cybersecurity risk has been equated with cyber attacks and associated legal consequences. That risk is undoubtedly real: All internet connected systems remain...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has removed the United Arab Emirates from its latest "List of Countries Requiring Cooperation With an International Boycott," easing certain tax reporting requirements.
On April 8, 2021,...more
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") recently revised the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") to, among other things, modify reporting and self-classification requirements for...more
Renewed government focus on imported products made with forced or indentured labor warrants attention to global supply chains best practices.
On March 29, 2021, United States Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") announced...more
The Situation: Later this month, transactions in the information and communication technology and services ("ICTS") sector that involve designated "foreign adversaries" will be subject to review by the U.S. Department of...more
The General Services Administration ("GSA") is including language regarding cybersecurity requirements in requests for proposals relating to certain IT governmentwide acquisition contracts ("GWACs"). Certain requirements will...more
The Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") has established a "Military End-User" List ("MEU List"), adding an initial tranche of Chinese and Russian entities to the list.
On December 23, 2020, BIS issued a final rule...more
The Situation: On January 25, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order titled "Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers" ("Made in America EO" or "EO"). The Made in America EO...more
As part of the U.S. government response, the Department of the Treasury imposes sanctions on certain Burmese persons, and the Department of Commerce heightens export restrictions relating to Burma.
In response to the...more
The Development: China's Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") released Rules on Counteracting Unjustified Extra-Territorial Application of Foreign Laws and Other Measures ("Rules") on January 9, 2021. Effective immediately, the...more
The Situation: The United States federal government—including Congress, the Department of Labor, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Treasury—continues to ramp up efforts to address reports of...more
On November 12, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled "Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies," which will prohibit U.S. persons from participating...more
The Situation: In an October 1, 2020, Advisory, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") warned that companies that make or facilitate ransomware payments to threat actors who are...more
The Situation: Challenges to the scope of an agency's corrective action are notoriously hard to win at the U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") because of the high level of deference normally afforded to agencies in...more
The Situation: On August 7, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury ("Treasury Department") took the first action under the authority of "The President's Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization" ("HK Normalization EO")...more
The companies were added to the Entity List for aiding Chinese military construction in the South China Sea.
Effective August 27, 2020, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") amended the Export...more
The Situation: On July 14, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (the "HKAA"), the U.S. government's response to China's new National Security Law for Hong Kong.
The Result: The HKAA could...more
7/24/2020
/ Blocking Sanctions ,
China ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA) ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US State Departments ,
US Trade Policies
The Situation: The U.S. Department of the Treasury ("Treasury Department") recently issued proposed regulations that will alter and in some cases expand the scope of critical technology foreign investments subject to...more
6/23/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
ITAR ,
National Security ,
New Rules ,
Proposed Regulation ,
U.S. Treasury
The Situation: On April 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") published two final rules as well as one proposed rule amending the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") to...more
The Situation: A U.S. District Court vacated a $2 million penalty imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") against Exxon Mobil Corporation ("Exxon") because OFAC failed to...more
2/20/2020
/ Due Process ,
Executive Orders ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Fair Notice ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
Vacated