On July 17, the Department of State communicated to Congress that Iran remains in compliance with its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement reached over Iran’s nuclear program...more
Last week, the U.S. Senate acted to pass both new Iran and Russia sanctions by large bipartisan margins. The House of Representatives has not yet acted on either piece of legislation. We anticipate that Congress will...more
6/21/2017
/ Cybersecurity ,
Human Rights ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Mining ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Pending Legislation ,
Railways ,
Russia ,
Shipping ,
Terrorist Threats
On Friday, 16 June 2017, President Trump made his first major foray into U.S. - Cuban relations since assuming office. While it was a radical departure in tone from his predecessor, the changes he announced appear to leave...more
On May 18, 2017, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer formally notified Congress of the Trump Administration's intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada. The...more
5/26/2017
/ Canada ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exports ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Trade Relations ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration ,
USTR
While much attention has been focused on the Trump Administration's recent actions targeting imports of metals, lumber, and other commodities, the Administration has also steadily ramped up its activities in the trade...more
5/1/2017
/ Chemical Weapons ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Imports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
On April 3, 2017, the Council of the European Union approved a new regulation intended to prevent the trade in conflict minerals, which followed the approval of the European Parliament on March 16, 2017. This puts an end to...more
On 6 March 2017, President Donald Trump signed a new Executive Order (EO), "Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States." The new EO revokes Executive Order 13769 from 27 January 2017 and imposes...more
3/6/2017
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
National Security ,
Refugees ,
Terrorist Threats ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Visa Interview Waiver Program (VIWP) ,
Visas
On Friday, February 3, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it was designating 25 entities and individuals as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) for their involvement in...more
2/14/2017
/ Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
SDN List ,
Terrorist Threats ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
WMD
On February 9, 2017 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a unanimous (per curiam) order denying the Federal Government's emergency motion for a stay of the district court order temporarily enjoining...more
2/13/2017
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Dual Citizenship ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Iran ,
Iraq ,
Libya ,
Refugees ,
Somalia ,
Sudan ,
Syria ,
Terrorist Threats ,
Travel Ban ,
TRO ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas ,
Yemen
Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations’ (OCIE) 2017 Examination Priorities regarding certain practices, products, and services that...more
1/31/2017
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
OCIE ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Terrorism Funding
On Friday, January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order temporarily barring the entry of refugees and citizens from certain countries into the United States. The order, "Protecting the Nation from Foreign...more
1/31/2017
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Dual Citizenship ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Iran ,
Iraq ,
Libya ,
Somalia ,
Sudan ,
Syria ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas ,
Yemen
On December 23, 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) published a number of changes to the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“ITSR,” 31 C.F.R. Part 560) that expanded the...more
1/20/2017
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Commodities ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Healthcare ,
Imports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Obama Administration ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Software
On January 13, 2017, the White House, the U.S. Department of Treasury ’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) , and the U.S. Department of Commerce ’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced a host of policy...more
1/18/2017
/ Africa ,
Aircraft ,
Aircraft Equipment ,
Aircraft Sales ,
Aviation Industry ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Food Supply ,
Insurance Industry ,
Medical Devices ,
Obama Administration ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reinsurance ,
Sudan ,
Transportation Industry
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) just issued major revisions to the cybersecurity regulations for financial institutions that were due to come into effect on January 1, 2017. To allow covered institutions...more
1/3/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Framework ,
Data Protection ,
Encryption ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management