The U.S. Department of the Treasury proposed regulations on June 21, 2024, that would prohibit certain outbound investments by U.S. persons in Chinese companies focused on semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum...more
In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and intensifying strategic competition with China, the U.S. government is prioritizing enforcement of export controls and economic sanctions in unprecedented ways. We expect higher...more
On December 2, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) issued preliminary affirmative determinations of circumvention with respect to crystalline silicon photovoltaic (“CSPV”) cells and modules exported to the...more
12/6/2022
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Cambodia ,
China ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Exporters ,
Imports ,
Malaysia ,
Plastic Solar Cells ,
Solar Panels ,
Tariffs ,
Thailand ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US Trade Policies ,
Vietnam ,
Waivers
Welcome to the Orrick Guide to Foreign Investment Reviews. This guide answers frequently asked questions regarding investment control regimes in various jurisdictions. It has been prepared by the experts in our offices...more
On October 7, 2022, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry Security (“BIS”) released new export control regulations (the “New Regulations”) that intensify and complicate U.S. and non-U.S. companies’ international...more
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (the “Uyghur Act”) came into effect on June 21, 2022. As we described previously, the Uyghur Act establishes a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced, or manufactured, in...more
On December 18, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced the addition of 77 new entities, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (“SMIC”), to the Entity List. ...more
2/12/2021
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Licensing Rules ,
Military End Use ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Semiconductors
In response to a U.S. government consensus that trade with China involves grave national security risks, the Trump Administration promulgated a broad series of China-directed export controls, economic sanctions and import...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocking Statutes ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Human Rights ,
Infrastructure ,
Military End Use ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Trade Policies
On January 5, 2021, President Trump issued Executive Order 13971 (the “Executive Order”) that provides for prohibitions on U.S. persons engaging in transactions with persons that develop or control any of the following eight...more
1/11/2021
/ China ,
Data Collection ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Social Media ,
Software ,
Trump Administration
Late last week, a Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order granting a motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction forbidding implementation of sanctions against...more
9/21/2020
/ China ,
Data Collection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
First Amendment ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration
Last week, the Department of Commerce took steps to implement sanctions targeting China’s mobile applications WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd. (“WeChat Sanctions”), and TikTok, owned by ByteDance Ltd. (“ByteDance”)...more
The U.S. government is expanding international trade restraints against Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (“Huawei”) and its affiliates in an effort to further restrict Huawei’s access to U.S. technologies.....more
8/20/2020
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Huawei ,
National Security ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration
As noted in our recent alert, President Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (“HKAA”) on July 14, 2020. On the same day, the President also issued an Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization (the “Executive...more
Yesterday, after unanimous passage by the U.S. Congress, President Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (“HKAA”) in retaliation against China for it's “Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong...more
It has been an active last week in the world of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). In addition to CFIUS’s publication of proposed regulations that would impose filing fees for parties’...more
Congress has agreed upon two pieces of legislation soon to be signed by the President that will provide for a major expansion in the (i) screening by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") of...more
8/6/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Export Control Reform (ECR) ,
Exports ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
Investment Funds ,
Jurisdiction ,
Licenses ,
National Security ,
Pending Legislation ,
Popular ,
Screening Procedures ,
Technology Sector ,
Technology Transfer Agreements ,
Trump Administration
On April 3, the Office of the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") identified hundreds of Chinese products against which it proposes to impose 25 percent import duties under Sections 301 and 304 of the Trade Act of...more
4/6/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
China ,
Imports ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR ,
WTO
President Trump has issued a proclamation providing for additional 25 percent tariffs on imports of certain steel products and 10 percent tariffs on imports of certain aluminum products. The Administration's position is that...more
3/12/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
China ,
Global Market ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Manufacturers ,
National Security ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On March 7, U.S. authorities settled criminal and civil proceedings involving Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation and certain of its affiliates ("ZTE"). ZTE is the largest publicly traded telecommunications...more
3/17/2017
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Export Controls ,
Iran Sanctions ,
National Security ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Technology ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
ZTE
On December 2, President Obama, acting under the Exon-Florio law, blocked the planned acquisition by China's Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund LP ("Fujian Grand Chip"), a Chinese investment fund, of the U.S. operations of...more
12/9/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defense Production Act ,
Exon-Florio ,
Foreign Entities ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
Germany ,
Investment Funds ,
National Security ,
Obama Administration ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Transition Team ,
Trump Administration
On December 31, 2013, SolarWorld Industries America Inc. filed petitions with the U.S. government seeking antidumping and countervailing (anti-subsidy) duties on U.S. imports of Chinese and Taiwanese crystalline silicon...more