On December 2, 2024, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released its third round of export controls primarily targeting China’s attempts to create an “independent and controllable”...more
12/9/2024
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
ECCNs ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Inspections ,
Military End Use ,
Semiconductors ,
Software ,
Software Developers ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
In conjunction with the Group of Seven (G7) leaders meeting in Italy earlier this month, key jurisdictions issued the latest in a series of coordinated economic restrictions on Russia in light of its invasion of Ukraine in...more
7/1/2024
/ Belarus Sanctions ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
G7 ,
General Licenses ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Medical device companies have a new regulatory pathway for exporting certain U.S.-origin medical products to Russia, Belarus, Crimea and other regions of Ukraine (i.e., the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk...more
5/6/2024
/ Belarus ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Crimea ,
Entity List ,
Exceptions ,
Export Controls ,
General Licenses ,
Medical Devices ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Russia ,
TSRA ,
Ukraine
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law H.R. 815, an emergency appropriations package billed as authorizing $95 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel (the Act). While the Ukraine and Israel aid provisions...more
4/30/2024
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Federal Budget ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Israel ,
Russia ,
TikTok ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, and Justice jointly issued a Tri-Seal Compliance Note titled “Obligations of Foreign-Based Persons to Comply with U.S. Sanctions and Export Control Laws”...more
Companies faced with the decision of whether to voluntarily self-report sanctions breaches to law enforcement or sanctions enforcement agencies in the UK and the US can take some measure of comfort from recent comments made...more
10/16/2023
/ Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Good Faith ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Self-Reporting ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On May 19, in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the United States, in coordination with allies and partners, announced new sanctions restrictions and export controls targeting Russia’s evasion networks,...more
6/5/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Avoidance ,
Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
General Licenses ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been marked by the development of a multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency sanctions regime in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Although coordination...more
4/28/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Asset Recovery ,
Compliance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Authority ,
EU ,
G7 ,
Member State ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Effective February 5, 2023, the Price Cap Coalition (the Coalition), consisting of the G7 nations, the European Union (EU) and Australia, set a price cap of $45 per barrel for “Discount to Crude” petroleum products of Russian...more
2/10/2023
/ Australia ,
Biden Administration ,
Crude Oil ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Exports ,
G7 ,
General Licenses ,
New Guidance ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
A ban on services related to the maritime transport of Russian-origin crude oil sold above a pre-determined price cap of $60 per barrel began on December 5, 2022, with a similar price cap ban related to other Russian-origin...more
12/7/2022
/ Australia ,
Commodities ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Exports ,
G7 ,
Global Market ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
Western sanctions against Russia have continued to broaden substantially into new areas of trade, especially in the energy sector. Policymakers in Washington DC, Brussels, London and other allied capitals also continue to...more
3/18/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Belarus ,
Blocked Entities ,
Blocked Person ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
General Licenses ,
Imports ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Russia ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The United States, the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), and other allies and partners are implementing wide-ranging, novel sanctions and sweeping export controls against Russia in response to its invasion of...more
2/28/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocked Entities ,
Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Embargo ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Top EU Court Rules on the EU Blocking Regulation Against US Sanctions for the First Time -
On December 21, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), sitting as a “Grand Chamber” (a formation used, among...more
The US Treasury Department has released its 2021 Sanctions Review (the “Review”), which describes the US sanctions framework and the agency’s future sanctions priorities. The Review reflects on the evolution over two decades...more
10/20/2021
/ China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Hong Kong ,
Iran ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Public Policy ,
Russia ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency
On April 29, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced two settlements of potential civil liability with two companies over their apparent violations of its regulations. The...more
5/7/2021
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Money Transfer ,
Moneygram ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
SAP SE ,
SDN List ,
Settlement ,
Subsidiaries ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On April 15, 2021, President Biden signed a new executive order, Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation, escalating US sanctions against the Russian...more
A new rule effective March 22, 2021 establishes a process for the US Department of Commerce to review commercial transactions between US and foreign parties for certain information and communications technology and services...more
3/23/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cuba ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Hong Kong ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Iran ,
Licensing Rules ,
National Security ,
North Korea ,
Russia ,
Safe Harbors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Venezuela
On December 28, 2020, the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published awaited guidance on the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 13959, “Executive Order on Addressing the Threat from...more
On August 6, 2020, President Trump issued two nearly parallel executive orders (EOs) targeting the enormously popular apps TikTok and WeChat: Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok (TikTok EO), and Executive...more
The US government has established new authorities to impose sanctions in response to China’s national security law for Hong Kong, increasing the compliance risks for international banks and other companies that do business in...more
On June 29, 2020, the Commerce Department issued 32 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) concerning revision - effective as of the same date - to Part 744.21 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). As we discussed in a...more
7/2/2020
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Defense Sector ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Final Rules ,
General Licenses ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
Technology ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Venezuela
On May 15, 2020, the US Department of Commerce announced a rule further targeting Chinese telecommunications company Huawei and its chip-making subsidiary HiSilicon for allegedly engaging in “stepped-up efforts to undermine”...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound economic and political effects over the past several months. Increasingly, those effects have led a number of US policymakers, US allies, and others to question certain US sanctions...more
5/5/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Human Rights ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Medical Equipment ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Trade Relations ,
U.S. Treasury
On April 21, 2020, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is due to publish a notification of exemptions (Notification) to the restrictions it has recently imposed on the export of five types of personal protective...more
On December 13, 2019, the National Security Division (NSD) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a revised policy regarding voluntary disclosure of export control and sanctions violations by business organizations...more
12/27/2019
/ Amended Regulation ,
Arms Export Control Act ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
ITAR ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Willful Blindness ,
Willful Misconduct