As previously discussed, on April 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced significant changes to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to further restrict transactions...more
7/1/2020
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Commerce Control List ,
Electronic Export Information (EEI) ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Military End Use ,
Russia ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Venezuela
In response to an ongoing trade dispute between the United States and the European Union (EU), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is considering adding additional products to the existing list of EU imported...more
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce revised its existing export controls on Chinese telecoms company Huawei to permit limited sharing of some export-controlled technology with Huawei in the context of...more
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has initiated a Section 301 investigation into Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) proposed or enacted by the European Union (consisting of 27 member states), Austria, Brazil, the Czech...more
On May 27, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he has certified to Congress that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region no longer enjoys a high degree of autonomy from China. According to the legislative...more
On May 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 33 Chinese entities and research institutions to its prohibited “Entity List.” This latest action illustrates the U.S....more
On May 15, 2020, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it was amending the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to further restrict the ability of Chinese telecom and IT...more
On April 20, 2020, commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously to approve a long pending and controversial application by Ligado Networks to repurpose parts of the L-band (1-2 GHz) to...more
A federal interagency group commonly referred to as “Team Telecom” has been operating largely behind the scenes for years, advising the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the FCC’s review of the national security...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides $200 million for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to support health care providers (HCP) in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On April 2, 2020,...more
On March 12, 2020, the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act entered into force. This legislation is expected to make permanent the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) ban on the use of Universal Service Fund...more
On March 20, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) issued a new guidance document for industry and FDA staff, attempting to “help expand the availability and capability...more
Acknowledging that “effective communications with the American public” are “a critical component” of efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released, on its own motion, a...more
Acknowledging that “effective communications with the American public” is “a critical component” to efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released on its own motion, a...more
The long awaited draft technical requirements for the FCC’s reassigned numbers database was released today. At the time of the adoption of an order establishing this database in December 2018, the FCC tasked its North...more
As previously reported, the FCC’s ban of Huawei and ZTE equipment and services from projects subsidized by the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) became effective on January 3, 2020, following the publication of its December...more
Another court has observed that a billion-dollar aggregate liability under the TCPA likely would violate due process, adopting the Eighth Circuit’s reasoning that such a “shockingly large amount” of statutory damages would be...more
On January 10, 2020, President Trump issued a new Executive Order that imposes the latest in a series of economic sanctions on Iran. Individuals and entities violating these and other sanctions on Iran can face significant...more
1/13/2020
/ Banking Sector ,
Blocked Person ,
Construction Industry ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Manufacturers ,
Mining ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Textiles ,
Trump Administration
As predicted, amendments to the TCPA – in the form of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (the “TRACED Act”) – were signed into law by the President of the United States on...more
1/7/2020
/ Amended Legislation ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
FCC ,
Law Enforcement ,
New Legislation ,
Robocalling ,
Spoofing ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing
The United States has reached an agreement with China that will reduce the tariff rate to 7.5 percent for approximately $120 billion of Chinese goods (a reference to merchandise on List 4A) currently subject to Section 301...more
Senate Bill 151, now called “the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act” (the “TRACED Act”), has been reconciled with the House of Representatives’ bipartisan bill House Bill 3375 and...more
On November 26, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously to ban Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation equipment and services from all projects subsidized by funding from the FCC’s...more
12/5/2019
/ China ,
FCC ,
Foreign Policy ,
Huawei ,
Information Technology ,
National Security ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
Universal Service Fund ,
ZTE
President Trump, on December 2, 2019, announced via a Twitter post that the tariff exemptions granted to Argentina and Brazil from tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports would end “effective...more
12/3/2019
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Argentina ,
Brazil ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Section 232 ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US Trade Policies
As we previously discussed, the need for clarification as to the TCPA’s treatment of outbound calls made using soundboard technology (“soundboard calls”) is particularly manifest in light of two pending petitions before the...more
11/25/2019
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
FCC ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
Statutory Violations ,
Summary Judgment ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) has announced that it will accept public comments on the proposed renewal of certain product exclusions granted for the $34 billion in Chinese imports covered...more
10/30/2019
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
China ,
Comment Period ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Exclusions ,
Imports ,
Public Comment ,
Section 301 ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR