The long-anticipated foreign investment review regulations were released for public inspection on 13 January, 2020. The regulations, scheduled to appear in the Federal Register on 17 January, 2020, are in two Federal Register...more
On 10 January 2020, in response to missile attacks by the Iranian military targeting two U.S. bases in Iraq, the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a number of senior...more
1/14/2020
/ Blocked Person ,
Construction Project ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Manufacturers ,
Mining ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
SDN List ,
Textiles ,
Trump Administration
Two years after the release of the first draft of the Chinese Export Control Law (the Law) in 2017 (the 2017 Draft), on 28 December 2019, a revised draft was published on the website of the National People's Congress for...more
1/8/2020
/ China ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Dual Use Goods ,
End-Users ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Licensing Rules ,
Military End Use ,
Military Goods ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Trade Policy ,
Use in Commerce
On 13 December 2019 the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD) announced the release of its long-anticipated and updated Export Control and Sanction Enforcement Policy for Business Organizations...more
12/19/2019
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Export Controls ,
FCPA Guidance ,
National Security ,
Policy Statement ,
Sanction Violations ,
Self-Reporting ,
Trade Relations ,
Willful Misconduct
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the committee), a U.S. government interagency committee that conducts national security reviews of foreign investments, has released its annual report for...more
On 26 November 2019 the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a long-awaited proposed rule (or draft regulations) to implement Executive Order 13873, "Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply...more
11/27/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Imports ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On 5 November 2019 the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two new general licenses authorizing certain transactions involving the government of Venezuela (GOV) and certain individuals affiliated with the GOV,...more
On 25 October the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and State announced the establishment of a new channel for conducting due diligence on humanitarian trade with Iran.
Foreign governments and foreign financial institutions...more
11/8/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Due Diligence ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Relations ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Trump Administration
Recent actions by the U.S. Department of State underscore the Trump administration's efforts to use a "whole of government" approach to address perceived national security threats posed by China.
While these actions do not...more
On 21 October 2019 the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule amending Cuba-related provisions in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
The new rule further restricts exports and reexports of...more
10/25/2019
/ Aerospace ,
Aircraft Sales ,
Airlines ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cuba ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Infrastructure ,
Licensing Rules ,
Revenue ,
Sanctions ,
Telecommunications ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Trade Relations ,
Vessels
On 14 October, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13894, Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria (EO).
...more
10/18/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey ,
Unauthorized Transactions
On 7 October 2019 the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) expanded the Entity List, restricting certain transactions with 28 Chinese entities.
...more
10/16/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Doing Business ,
ECCNs ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Educational Institutions ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Entities ,
Human Rights ,
Research and Development ,
Surveillance ,
Universities
On 3 October 2019, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the imposition of civil penalties for violations of the Part 810 regulations (10 CFR Part 810), which control the export of...more
10/11/2019
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Bans ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
NDAA ,
Part 810 ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Rulemaking Process
The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is extending the temporary general license (TGL) for Huawei until 18 November 2019, and adding additional Huawei companies to the Entity List....more
On 2 August the United States announced that it will impose a second round of sanctions on Russia pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) (22 U.S.C. § 5601 et...more
On 14 August 2019 the U.S. Department of Commerce published a proposed change to the list of "Schedule 1" chemicals in the "Annex on Chemicals" to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
...more
On 5 August 2019 the Trump administration issued Executive Order 13884 (the executive order) imposing sweeping sanctions against the government of Venezuela, including its agencies and instrumentalities as well as any...more
Following on the heels of U.S. trade negotiators’ return from China, on 1 August, President Trump abruptly announced via Twitter an “additional Tariff of 10 percent on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products...more
8/14/2019
/ China ,
Currency Manipulation ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Economic Downturn ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Requests for Exclusion ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
On 20 June 2019 the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final interim rule (effective on 21 June 2019) amending its reporting, procedures, and penalties regulations, 31 Code of Federal...more
7/26/2019
/ Confidential Information ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Factoring Transactions ,
FOIA ,
Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media ,
Interim Rule ,
License Applications ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
On 2 May 2019, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), the agency responsible for enforcing economic sanctions, published "A Framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments" (the "Framework") which outlines...more
7/3/2019
/ Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Framework Agreement ,
Fund Managers ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Private Equity ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sanction Violations
With or without a trade deal, national security concerns regarding China are here to stay -
Since President Trump took office, the U.S.-China trade relationship has been at the center of the administration’s foreign...more
7/1/2019
/ Aerospace ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Defense Sector ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Export Controls ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Information Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
National Security ,
Trump Administration
On 4 June 2019 the Trump administration implemented certain regulatory changes first announced on 17 April 2019 by National Security Advisor Ambassador John Bolton in a foreign policy address regarding the Trump...more
On 2 May 2019 the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued "A Framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments" (the framework), which outlines five components OFAC considers to be essential...more
OFAC has announced a Finding of Violation –and not a penalty–against State Street Bank and Trust Co. (SSBT) for processing 45 pension payments totaling under $12,000 on behalf of a pension plan participant who was a US...more
On 28 January 2019, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) as a Specially Designated National (SDN) for operating in the oil sector of the...more