The U.S. Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is the regulatory organization charged with administering the body of export laws known as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)...more
On July 23, 2024, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or “the Committee”) released its annual report to Congress regarding the Committee’s national security reviews and investigations of certain...more
The use of forced labor, child labor, or modern slavery practices (collectively “forced labor”) in supply chains is not a new problem in the international trade world; however, many companies remain unaware of forced labor...more
7/29/2024
/ Child Labor ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Due Diligence ,
Forced Labor ,
Internal Controls ,
International Trade ,
Jurisdiction ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain
On May 22, 2024, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced the publication of a Federal Register Notice (“the FRN”) setting forth additional and increased Section 301 tariffs for specific Harmonized Tariff...more
On April 17, 2024, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) initiated an investigation pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (“Section 301”) regarding China’s acts, policies, and practices to dominate the...more
Many companies, particularly Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) and start-up companies, continue to struggle with the concept of export control classification of items with encryption functionality. This ongoing confusion is...more
March 2024 was a busy month for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP” or “Customs”) with respect to the Enforce and Protect Act (“EAPA”) regulations related to the evasion of antidumping and countervailing duties...more
4/25/2024
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Evasion ,
Final Rules ,
Importers ,
Investigations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
US Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA)
A new proposed rule issued by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) seeks to expand the scope of information that CFIUS can request from parties, expand its ability to monitor and investigate...more
The U.S. agencies most well-known for their enforcement of U.S. trade and national security laws are the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”), the Office of Foreign...more
In a move that highlights the U.S. government’s ongoing fight against evasion of sanctions and export control laws, the Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, and Justice yesterday published yet another Tri-Seal Compliance...more
On February 23, 2024, on the brink of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Biden announced additional sanctions and export controls against Russia and entities in third countries that have...more
2/26/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On February 7, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that settlements and judgements under the False Claims Act (FCA) exceeded $2 billion for the 2022 fiscal year. The 2022 fiscal year also had the second-highest...more
2/1/2024
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exploitation ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Imports ,
Investigations ,
ITAR ,
National Security ,
Sanctions ,
Settlement ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
White Collar Crimes
Ensuring compliance with U.S. export controls, import regulations, and economic sanctions is common practice for companies that engage in international trade. These companies often have internal compliance policies and due...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP” or “Customs”) is the U.S. agency tasked with addressing import compliance risks and evaluating internal compliance controls implemented by importing companies. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. §...more
Many importers have experienced at one time or another that horrible, stomach-turning feeling that comes with the realization that merchandise they have been importing has been entered under the wrong HTS code, with the...more
In 2022, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP” or “Customs”) processed $3.35 trillion in imports, issued 2,121 penalties, and collected $19.3 million from penalties and liquidated damages. Section 1592 of the Tariff Act of...more
On October 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry & Security (“BIS”) released three rules amending the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to strengthen export controls on advanced computing...more
11/1/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
ECCNs ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Final Rules ,
Licensing Rules ,
Manufacturers ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology Sector
Receiving an administrative subpoena, summons, or other request for information from a federal U.S. agency can be surprising, but it is not an uncommon scenario in the trade world. The main agencies in charge of administering...more
The discovery of actual or potential International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) violations presents the question of whether to disclose the conduct to the Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls...more
In the United States export control laws and regulations require companies to receive export licenses prior to releasing any controlled items or technologies to non-U.S. persons. The process of determining what is controlled...more
8/2/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Citizenship ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
ITAR ,
Title VII ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Many importers will discover at some point that products they import may be subject to anti-dumping duties (“ADD”) or countervailing duties (“CVD”). With Washington’s continued aggressive approach toward unfair trade...more
In our recent article Amid TikTok Tensions, CFIUS Signals Increased Enforcement and Other Updates, we discussed updates from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or “the Committee”) primarily with...more
6/19/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investors ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Market ,
U.S. Treasury
In this week’s episode, we discuss the unique high-profile whistleblower case involving the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, describing corruption, bribery, and money laundering conspiracy involving PetroSaudi,...more
The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued an Alert on April 17, 2023, warning U.S. persons about the possible evasion of the price cap imposed by the Department of Treasury on Russian oil. Pursuant to...more
In a memorandum published by the Bureau of Industry and Security on April 18, 2023, the Office of Export Enforcement (OEE) announced that it wants to incentivize voluntary self-disclosures (VSDs) after a party uncovers...more