The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) published an interim final rule on December 26, 2019, bringing the International Traffic in Arms Regulations’ (“ITAR”) treatment of encrypted electronic...more
1/9/2020
/ Cloud Computing ,
Defense Sector ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Encryption ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Persons ,
ITAR ,
Licensing Rules
On December 13, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a new policy for companies that voluntarily disclose potential criminal violations of U.S. sanctions and export control laws to the DOJ’s National Security...more
12/21/2019
/ Aggravating Factors ,
Amended Rules ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cooperation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Remediation ,
Sanction Violations ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Successor Liability ,
Voluntary Disclosure
Throughout his presidency, President Trump has used tariffs – and the threat of tariffs – to address an unprecedented variety of economic and national security threats. As if to underscore the point, on December 2, 2019, the...more
12/5/2019
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Argentina ,
Brazil ,
China ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Country of Origin ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Digital Services Tax ,
Duties ,
Exports ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Foreign Trade Zones ,
France ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Mexico ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariff Classifications ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR ,
WTO
On November 27, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a proposed rule and request for comment relating to its implementation of the May 15, 2019 Executive Order (“EO”) 13873, “Securing the Information and Communications...more
12/2/2019
/ Blocking Statutes ,
CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Imports ,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
National Security ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), issued proposed regulations to expand its jurisdiction to cover certain transactions by...more
On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), issued two proposed regulations (“Proposed Regulations”) to further...more
9/26/2019
/ CFIUS ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Filing Fees ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Non-Controlling Interests ,
Private Equity ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
U.S. Treasury
On August 5, 2019, the President signed a new executive order ( “EO 13884”) that imposes blocking sanctions on the Government of Venezuela (“GOV”). EO 13884 does not impose a trade embargo or broadly prohibit transactions...more
The U.S. State and Treasury Departments announced that a second round of sanctions will be imposed against Russia pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act of 1991 (“CBW Act”). The most notable new measure...more
8/7/2019
/ Bank of Russia ,
Biological-Weapons ,
Bond Markets ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CBW Act ,
Chemical Weapons ,
Commodities Traders ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Banks ,
International Banks ,
Investment Companies ,
National Security ,
Open General Export Licences (OGELs) ,
Russia ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US State Departments
After an unusually quiet year bringing enforcement cases in 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has assumed an unprecedented pace in 2019 – since January 31, OFAC has...more
On April 25, 2019, Haverly Systems, Inc. (Haverly) agreed to pay a penalty of $75,375 to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to settle charges related to two violations of sanctions...more
4/30/2019
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Goods or Services ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Payment Terms ,
Penalties ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
SSI List
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the EU Council, and Canada imposed further sanctions targeting Russian individuals and entities allegedly involved in the escalation of...more
3/22/2019
/ Australia ,
Banks ,
Blocked Entities ,
Blocked Person ,
CAATSA ,
Canada ,
CBW Act ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU Council of Ministers ,
Executive Orders ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine ,
US State Departments ,
Venezuela
On February 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) relating to sanctions imposed on January 28, 2019 against...more
2/4/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Bonds ,
Derivatives ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
General Licenses ,
Non U.S. Person ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Venezuela ,
Winding Down
On January 28, 2019, the United States imposed blocking sanctions on Petróleos de Venezuela SA (“PdVSA”), the Venezuelan state-owned oil company. The measures follow President Trump’s recent decision to recognize Juan Guaidó,...more
1/31/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Presidential Elections ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela ,
Winding Down
On December 1, 2018, acting at the request of the United States, Canadian authorities arrested a senior officer of Huawei Technologies Co. (“Huawei”), the Chinese telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics device...more
12/12/2018
/ Arrest ,
China ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Hong Kong ,
HSBC ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Sanction Violations ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies
The U.S. Government has instituted a major new initiative to regulate emerging technology, potentially including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, data analytics and many other types of emerging technology,...more
11/19/2018
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biotechnology ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Commerce Control List ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Export Control Reform (ECR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Investment ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Public Comment ,
Research and Development ,
Robotics ,
Trump Administration
On November 5, 2018, applicable wind-down periods for certain transactions with Iran ended and the second and final set of U.S. secondary sanctions that had been lifted pursuant to the Iran nuclear deal – the Joint...more
11/7/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Exports ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Petroleum ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Shipping ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
Trump Administration
The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”) will take effect on December 30, 2018. Australia ratified the agreement on October 31, 2018, joining Mexico, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and Canada, and...more
11/6/2018
/ Australia ,
Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
CPTPP ,
Foreign Investment ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Investor Protection ,
Japan ,
Mexico ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
New Zealand ,
Singapore ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) published two sets of interim rules on October 10, 2018, implementing certain provisions of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”). In addition to...more
10/16/2018
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Interim Rule ,
ITAR ,
Mandatory Declarations ,
National Security ,
Non-Controlling Interests ,
Petrochemicals ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The United States, Canada and Mexico on September 30 announced the framework for a new, revised trade agreement to replace NAFTA, called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (the “USMCA”)....more
10/12/2018
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
Canada ,
Countervailing Duties ,
CPTPP ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Exports ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
Investor Protection ,
Investor-State Arbitration ,
Mexico ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
NAFTA ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
On August 24, 2018, the U.S. Department of State announced a new but limited export licensing policy for defense and national security-sensitive goods and technology to Russia, effective August 27, 2018. The export licensing...more
8/27/2018
/ Chemical Weapons ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Government Officials ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
UK ,
US State Departments
As expected, following his May 8, 2018, decision to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”), President Trump signed a new Executive Order (“E.O.”) on August 6, 2018, formally...more
8/9/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
International Relations ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nuclear Power ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
Winding Down ,
Withdrawal
The United States put into effect new tariffs on July 6, 2018, on roughly US$34 billion in Chinese products. In response, the Chinese government instituted retaliatory tariffs on a comparable quantity of U.S. products....more
7/6/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Canada ,
China ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mexico ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
USTR
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has tightened Iran sanctions. Specifically, OFAC revoked authorizations that (1) allowed foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies to do business in Iran;...more
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced 25% tariffs on Chinese goods on June 15, targeting industrial goods that amount to roughly US$34 billion in annual exports to the United States, with a review underway for an...more
6/18/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
Canada ,
China ,
Classifications of Goods ,
Country of Origin ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mexico ,
Risk Management ,
Section 301 ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
USTR ,
Valuation
President Trump announced today, May 8, 2018, that the United States would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”), the Iran nuclear deal implemented in January 2016. In connection with the...more