On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order to modify sanctions initially imposed by former President Trump regarding investments in Chinese companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military. The new...more
On April 15, 2021, the United States imposed new sanctions expanding restrictions on the purchase of certain Russian sovereign debt and other financing instruments and adding numerous Russian entities and individuals to the...more
Key Takeaways - Because digital currencies allow for high-value transactions outside of the traditional U.S. banking system, OFAC has rigorously investigated whether digital currency service businesses may be facilitating...more
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 Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AML Act), enacted on January 1, 2021 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year of 2021 (NDAA), makes several significant changes to U.S. anti-money laundering...more
2/23/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Disgorgement ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
NDAA ,
New Legislation ,
Pooled Investment Vehicles ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Whistleblowers
In this OnPoint, we discuss new rules announced by China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) aimed at counteracting the extraterritorial impact of foreign law on Chinese persons. ...more
On December 19, 2020, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) and Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) jointly issued the Measures on National Security Review of Foreign Investments (“Review Measures”). ...more
On December 28, 2020, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) released guidance on the implementation of sanctions targeting securities of Communist Chinese military companies (“CCMCs”) imposed...more
President Trump issued an Executive Order on November 12, 2020 that will prohibit U.S. persons from investing in publicly traded securities of certain companies determined to be affiliated with China’s military. Executive...more
11/16/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Transactions ,
Trump Administration
Amid escalating tensions between the United States and China over the last few years, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has formally prioritized criminal prosecutions of Chinese nationals and companies, and...more
10/29/2020
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
China Initiative ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
FBI ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Entities ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Hackers ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Joe Biden ,
National Security ,
Presidential Elections ,
RICO ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
United States
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
Key Takeaways -
- On July 31, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), published its Annual Report to Congress on all notices...more
8/7/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Congressional Reports ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Japan ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings
Key Takeaways -
On July 28, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), released the final rule to establish filing fees for CFIUS...more
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
Background -
The U.S. Government, through the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), has imposed comprehensive sanctions against Syria since 2011. ...more
President Vladimir Putin signed a bill on June 8, 2020 designed to provide legal recourse, in certain cases, to Russian (and foreign) persons who have been sanctioned by foreign states....more
Key Takeaways
- On May 19, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), published its Annual Report to Congress on all notices filed...more
President Trump signed into law the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”) on August 13, 2018, which made several substantial changes to the CFIUS process and expanded the scope of the Committee’s...more
5/28/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
ITAR ,
Mandatory Declarations ,
NAICS ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Substantial Interest Test ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The EU Foreign Direct Investment Regulation will be in full force from October 11, 2020. We expect it will radically alter the dynamics of foreign investment review in Europe. Any non-EU investor and any EU target company...more
5/18/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
New Regulations ,
Non-EU Investors ,
UK Brexit
This Interim Rule follows the Proposed Rule on filing fees published by the Committee on March 9, 2020...The Interim Rule also implements one of the last remaining changes to the CFIUS process initiated by the Foreign...more
5/6/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Filing Fees ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Interim Rule ,
Joint Venture ,
Minority Equity Investments ,
National Security ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Voluntary Transaction Notices
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
Germany’s cabinet has approved draft legislation designed to tighten the country’s foreign investment control (“FDI”) regime. The draft bill pre-dates the coronavirus crisis but comes amid growing fears that non-EU investors...more
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