It has now been more than 40 days since the start of Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Today, following the recent revelations of the atrocities committed in Bucha, Ukraine by Russian armed forces, the United States – in...more
Updated as of February 25, 2022 -
Key Takeaways of OFAC (Treasury) and BIS (Commerce) Actions -
Major Russian Banks Blocked from the U.S. Financial System. Six major Russian banks — VEB, Promsvyazbank (PSB), VTB Bank,...more
Updated as of February 25, 2022 -
Key Takeaways of EU and UK Recent Actions Against Russia and Ukraine Breakaway Regions -
The EU adopted the first tranche of sanctions restrictions targeting financial institutions, other...more
U.S. Comprehensive Sanctions Against the DNR and the LNR -
Scope: the DNR and LNR -
The new EO does not detail which parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions[1] are subject to the new U.S. sanctions. It is likely that...more
2/22/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
United States ,
Vladimir Putin
On February 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a Final Rule amending the Export Administration Regulations to add 33 Chinese parties, to the Unverified List (UVL)...more
Scope of the Proposed Regulation -
The Regulation would apply where a third country interferes in the legitimate sovereign choices of the Union or a Member State, by applying or threatening to apply measures affecting...more
2/15/2022
/ China ,
Coercion ,
Comment Period ,
Countermeasures ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Member State ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Russia ,
Trade Wars
Starting January 1, 2022, the use of E171 titanium dioxide as a food additive will be banned in Europe. The European Commission’s proposal to ban E171 in food products throughout the European Union was approved a few weeks...more
On July 26, 2021, the SEC announced the approval of a substituted compliance determination order with respect to security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants (SBS Entities) subject to regulation in...more
This is the first of three articles on the Solar Industry and Forced Labor. Here we focus on regulation. Articles in the coming weeks will focus on issues facing importers and their suppliers, and on investors and their...more
7/26/2021
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Clean Energy ,
Customs ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Forced Labor ,
Solar Energy ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Contracts ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)
On June 10, 2021, China enacted the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (“AFSL”), aimed at punishing countries that impose anti-China sanctions and the companies that comply with those sanctions. The law is effective immediately, and...more
A June 3, 2021 Executive Order (see our post here) designated 59 Chinese companies in which U.S. companies are prohibited from buying or selling securities. According to the Biden administration, those companies “threaten the...more
6/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Investment ,
Geopolitical Risks ,
Investment Funds ,
Manufacturers ,
Securities ,
Startups ,
Supply Chain
In May 2018 the United States announced the reinstitution of sanctions against Iran that had previously been lifted pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan Action (“JCPOA”).
The U.S. sanctions on Iran that were revived...more
5/27/2021
/ Banks ,
Blocking Statutes ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanctions
A new framework for foreign direct investments in the United Kingdom -
Takeaways -
• The United Kingdom Government has adopted a CFIUS-style National Security and Investment Act (“the Act”).
• The new law takes...more
On May 10, 2021, the EU adopted its new, revised version of Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 (the “Regulation”). It is widely acknowledged to be the first major reform to the structure of the EU’s export control regime since...more
On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government and installed an army general as head of state, with a cadre of military officials and their allies running the government. ...more
On November 11, 2020, the UK government proposed a much anticipated National Security and Investment Bill (the Bill or proposed Regulation) before Parliament.
The Bill is the result of a series of government papers and legal...more
On October 15, 2020, CFIUS will officially tie mandatory filings to U.S. export control regimes, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). While that...more
The UK government has now made a show of force in its foreign direct investment (FDI) reviews.
For the first time, the UK Secretary of State issued an order to prevent a transaction for raising public interest...more
On August 28, 2020, China took its own swing in the fight over TikTok. The blow, however, may land right in the middle of U.S.-China technology research, collaboration, and innovation. New export regulations may require...more
9/3/2020
/ 3D Printing ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Drones ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
MInistry of Commerce ,
MOFCOM ,
National Security ,
Personal Data ,
Software ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
TikTok
The Takeaway: Severe restrictions on ByteDance’s Sale of TikTok should be a warning to media and tech companies with foreign ownership, particularly Chinese investment, to know your risks and mitigate them before the...more
8/17/2020
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Data Collection ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investigations ,
Media ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Personal Data ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration