As an accompaniment to our biweekly series on What Every Multinational Should Know About various international trade, enforcement, and compliance topics, below find an update to our “Five Compliance Best Practices” series,...more
A recent Ninth Circuit decision underscores why importers should be worried that they will be hit with a large government bill under the False Claims Act (FCA) to pay for newly raised duties imposed on imported products. The...more
7/9/2025
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Appeals ,
China ,
Customs ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Judicial Authority ,
Jurisdiction ,
Penalties ,
Scienter ,
Tariffs
Print Share by Email Share Back to top The Trump Administration’s crackdown on cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) operating abroad and in the United States is a significant Department of Justice (DOJ)...more
Last month, the Department of Justice put trade, customs, and tariff fraud squarely in the spotlight. This isn’t just another line item on the compliance checklist, it’s a loud-and-clear signal that import-related enforcement...more
6/10/2025
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Customs ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Imports ,
Manufacturers ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
White Collar Crimes
As detailed in Part I of our three-part series on Minimizing Customs Enforcement and False Claims Act Risks, the combination of the new high-tariff environment, the heightened ability of Customs (and the general public) to...more
4/25/2025
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Classification ,
Compliance ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Country of Origin ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Duty Free ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Misclassification ,
Misrepresentation ,
Penalties ,
Risk Management ,
Tariffs ,
Valuation
In less than 100 days, the Trump administration has implemented a dizzying array of new tariffs, significantly increasing costs and complexity for U.S. importers. The administration is keenly aware that companies operating in...more
3/26/2025
/ China ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Smuggling ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
On February 20, 2025, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Commercial Litigation Branch at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Michael Granston, emphasized using the False Claims Act (FCA) to address U.S. Customs &...more
3/7/2025
/ Compliance ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Globally Harmonized System ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Misclassification ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) ,
Whistleblowers
Mexican cartels dominate large swaths of the Mexico-United States border and the Bajío region (an area encompassing relevant parts of Queretaro, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Jalisco, and Michoacán), and they...more
3/7/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Investment ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain
On February 10 President Trump issued an Executive Order, Pausing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement to Further American Economic and National Security, signaling a shift in U.S. enforcement priorities regarding...more
We have received several requests to publish a list of red flags pertinent to multinational organizations. To accommodate these requests, we are publishing a three-part series on anticorruption, export controls and economic...more
3/21/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Buyers ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Multinationals ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Sellers ,
Supply Chain ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Record penalties for violations of U.S. regulations governing international conduct and transactions illustrate the risk of costly enforcement actions facing multinational companies. Yet, many multinational companies lack...more
11/30/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Customs ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Internal Controls ,
International Regulatory Standards ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
SDN List ,
Supply Chain ,
UK Bribery Act ,
USML
Many have viewed corporate commitments to ESG as largely performative measures amidst toothless compliance frameworks. But this has been changing and we expect that change to continue. One example arises out of the “S” in...more
12/20/2022
/ Child Labor ,
Compliance ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Forced Labor ,
Imports ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)
1. Customs Compliance Will Continue to be Essential Under the New Administration -
Under the Trump administration, customs matters came to the forefront of compliance attention for many automotive companies. This was...more
3/31/2021
/ Automotive Industry ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
International Trade ,
Section 232 ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Wars ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Over the last three years, the current administration has imposed the largest export controls penalty, the second-largest economic sanctions penalty, and four of the ten largest anti-bribery penalties of all time, signaling...more
Regulators within the Trump administration have sent a loud message that should concern all multinational automotive companies: laws governing international activities continue to be the subject of intense enforcement...more
5/25/2018
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Automotive Industry ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
ITAR ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
SDN List ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration
Over the last month, regulators with the Trump administration sent a loud message to companies subject to U.S. jurisdiction: Enforcement of laws governing international activities is alive and well and the laws will continue...more
5/14/2018
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Antiboycott Requirements ,
Bribery ,
CEOs ,
CFIUS ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Code of Conduct ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Internal Controls ,
ITAR ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
SDN List ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
An open question coming into 2017 was whether the aggressive enforcement posture that had characterized the Obama and Bush administrations would continue under the Trump administration. Any questions were answered with the...more
3/19/2018
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Automotive Industry ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exports ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Multinationals ,
NAFTA ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanctions ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration
Since mid-2000s investigation of Siemens, and the resulting $800 million penalty for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the FCPA has been an enforcement priority of the U.S. Government. Although a dip in...more
5/12/2017
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
ISO ,
ISO 37001 ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Yates Memorandum
The election of President Trump contained some positive signs for Private Equity (PE) fund managers. These included potential lower corporate taxes, a ten-percent tax holiday for funds parked overseas, large infrastructure...more
4/15/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Antitrust Violations ,
CFIUS ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Cybersecurity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fund Managers ,
NAFTA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Liability ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Privacy Laws ,
Private Equity ,
Risk Assessment ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers ,
Yates Memorandum
The Trump administration has vowed to bring jobs back to the states. One of the methods it appears it’ll take advantage of is continued, aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws governing exports and international conduct....more
3/1/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Job Creation ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration
Enforcement activity under the Obama administration often made headlines for the eye-popping level of fines, with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, and economic sanctions...more
2/11/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Attorney General ,
Bribery ,
CFIUS ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dual Use Goods ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Employee Training ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FBI ,
Financial Fraud ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Internal Controls ,
ITAR ,
Multinationals ,
NAFTA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Political Appointments ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
The penalties for compliance missteps have never been higher — particularly in the international regulatory context. As the record-setting penalties against BNP Paribas (nearly $9 billion in penalties for violations of...more