In a bold move to tighten its sanctions enforcement, the EU rolled out Directive 2024/1226, establishing minimum rules for defining criminal offenses and penalties related to the violation of EU sanctions. Effective May 19,...more
The EU is going extraterritorial, and it is doing so through private contract. It is a pretty neat trick.
As a general rule, EU regulations do not apply extraterritorially. This policy is a bit pointed, intended to stand...more
3/28/2024
/ Asset Freeze ,
Buyers ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Exporters ,
Exports ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Member State ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine
The EU plans to step up controls on its home grown technology. That is the short version.
The longer version is a (pretty dry) recitation of the proposed legislation and whitepapers that were published last week as the...more
On June 23, 2023, the EU released its 11th package of sanctions on Russia. This package is designed to improve enforcement with new anti-circumvention rules, new trade restrictions, and new designations. The...more
6/26/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Crude Oil ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
Ukraine
In response to Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, both the United States and the European Union have imposed additional sanctions and further restricted exports to Russia and Iran. These new controls span many...more
2/28/2023
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trade Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On Monday, February 13, 2023, the U.S. government will officially issue a stricter policy of denial for providing lower-tech items to Huawei.
Technological containment continues as the Netherlands and Japan move to impose...more
2/9/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
Foreign Direct Product Rule ,
Huawei ,
Japan ,
Licensing Rules ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On October 21, 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) officially moved Myanmar onto the agency’s blacklist, where it joins Iran and North Korea, the only other two listed countries. It is likely that the United States...more
Updated as of April 12, 2022 -
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...more
4/13/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Belarus Sanctions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
G7 ,
General Licenses ,
Investment ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trading Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
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
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
With Russian forces massing at the Ukrainian border, the U.S. and EU have been warning of severe economic sanctions. While we wait and watch this brinksmanship play out, it is worth considering how businesses, and...more
12/16/2021
/ Banks ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Joe Biden ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SWIFT ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vladimir Putin
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
Key Takeaways:
• Threatened 25% tariffs on French luxury goods are suspended.
• USTR is still looking at tariffs in retaliation for taxes on U.S. global tech companies.
• Biden’s new USTR will face immense pressure to...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Customs ,
Duties ,
EU ,
Exports ,
France ,
Germany ,
Imports ,
IRS ,
Luxury Goods ,
Section 301 ,
Spain ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Rates ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
USTR
Over the past few weeks, we have been speculating on the international trends and tides we expect to see in the next four years under a new U.S. presidential administration. So that you can enjoy our prognostications (before...more
12/17/2020
/ Asia ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Recovery Plans ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration ,
UK
This spring, two major sports teams were caught cheating. Both are consistent championship contenders in recent years.
In the United States, hardly any sports fan could have missed the report released by Major League...more
3/11/2020
/ Baseball ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Fines ,
Corruption ,
Ethics ,
EU ,
Football ,
Gambling ,
Houston Astros ,
Investigations ,
Leadership ,
MLB ,
Scandals ,
Soccer ,
Sponsors ,
Sports ,
Sports Gambling
On December 2, 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that in response to a digital services tax law passed in France, it would be retaliating with stringent tariffs on luxury products coming from France. The...more
2/7/2020
/ Digital Services Tax ,
EU ,
Federal Register ,
Foreign Relations ,
France ,
Imports ,
Luxury Goods ,
OECD ,
Retail Market ,
Stream of Commerce ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
TTIP ,
Unduly Burdensome ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR ,
Wine & Alcohol
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, CFIUS, is the U.S. government agency that conducts national security reviews of foreign direct investment in the United States. The CFIUS rules have been significantly...more
4/10/2019
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Member State ,
National Security ,
Norway ,
UK
Imagine telling your company’s Board of Directors that the company will have to knowingly violate the law. Further, you might note, the American Law Institute’s Principles of Corporate Governance state that, with very limited...more
Our “trends for 2018” are only a selection of interesting developments to watch for in 2018.
Within the political and legislative cycle of the European Union, 2018 promises to be an eventful year, given that it is the last...more
2/9/2018
/ Base Erosion Tax ,
Bid Rigging ,
Big Data ,
CFIUS ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
International Tax Issues ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mergers ,
Multinationals ,
OECD ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sports ,
Standstill Agreements ,
State Aid ,
Transportation Industry ,
TTIP ,
WTO
Introduction -
Our “trends for 2018” are only a selection of interesting developments to watch for in 2018.
Within the political and legislative cycle of the European Union, 2018 promises to be an eventful year, given...more
1/24/2018
/ Athletes ,
Automated Transportation ,
Base Erosion Tax ,
Bid Rigging ,
Big Data ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CFIUS ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Data Protection ,
E-Commerce ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Parliament ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
GDP ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Geo-Blocking ,
Innovation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Manufacturers ,
Merger Controls ,
Multinationals ,
NAFTA ,
Olympics ,
Online Distribution ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Sports ,
State Aid ,
Supply Chain ,
Tax Evasion ,
Technology Sector ,
Transportation Industry ,
TTIP ,
WTO
On September 13, 2017, the EU Commission released a proposed regulation establishing a framework for screening Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Europe. Several EU Member States have already implemented national mechanisms...more
12/14/2017
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Member State ,
National Security ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Screening Procedures ,
Technology Sector
On July 27, 2017, the U.S. Congress sent to President Trump’s desk a bill that imposes new financial sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea. It appears nearly certain that the president will sign that bill, now...more
8/2/2017
/ Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Foreign Relations ,
Mineral Exploration ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pipelines ,
Resource Extraction ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Trump Administration