I. OFAC Publishes FAQs Addressing Ban on New Investment in Russia On April 6, 2022, President Biden signed Executive Order (“EO”) 14071, which prohibits all “new investment in the Russian Federation by a United States...more
June 23, 2022 Key Takeaways: In two recent speeches, Matthew Axelrod, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), has signaled policy changes related to...more
6/23/2022
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Sanctions ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On June 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) published guidance for importers regarding compliance requirements under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”),...more
6/20/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cross Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) ,
Due Diligence ,
Entity List ,
Forced Labor ,
Importers ,
New Guidance ,
Required Documentation ,
Supply Chain ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
BIS Imposes New Export Controls on Certain Industrial EAR99 Items -
Currently, all items on the Export Administration Regulations’ (“EAR“) Commerce Control List (“CCL”) require a license for export, re-export or transfer...more
6/14/2022
/ Belarus ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
General Licenses ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
UK ,
Ukraine
I. U.S. Persons Prohibited from Providing Accounting, Trust and Corporate Formation, and Management Consulting Services to Russia -
On May 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...more
U.S. Actions Following increased sanctions on Russian banks and a new Executive Order banning investment in the Russian Federation (reported by Foley Hoag here), on April 7, 2022, the U.S. sanctioned two major Russian...more
I. New Executive Order Bans U.S. Investment in Russia -
On April 6, 2022, President Biden issued a new Executive Order, “Prohibiting New Investment in and Certain Services to the Russian Federation in Response to...more
4/8/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Russia
U.S. Sanctions -
The U.S. continued to expand its Russia-related sanctions with new additions to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”) made by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office...more
On March 15, 2022, the U.S., UK, and EU announced new sanctions against various individuals and entities in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. added certain human rights violators and senior Russian...more
3/18/2022
/ Belarus ,
Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Human Rights ,
Investment Controls ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trade Restrictions ,
Travel Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On March 11, 2022, President Biden signed a new Russia-related Executive Order, Prohibiting Certain Imports, Exports, and New Investment with Respect to Continued Russian Federation Aggression (“March 11 E.O.”)....more
3/16/2022
/ Belarus ,
Biden Administration ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Vladimir Putin
I. Biden Administration Import and Investment Ban Related to Russian Energy -
On March 8, 2022, the Biden administration announced its widely anticipated ban on the import of Russian oil and other energy-related...more
3/14/2022
/ Belarus ,
Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
General Licenses ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Key Takeaways:
• U.S. imposes additional sanctions on Russian elites, along with their family members, companies, and personal vehicles
• Actions targeting the defense sector and Russian government-affiliated media...more
3/8/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
SWIFT ,
Ukraine
On February 28, 2022, the U.S. government announced new sanctions on the Central Bank of Russia, National Wealth Fund, Ministry of Finance, and Russian Direct Investment Fund, dramatically increasing the economic impact of...more
3/2/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Currency ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
As we had reported in our earlier client alert and 2022 Year in Preview, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in a new wave of sanctions and export controls on Russia, including sanctions on key sectors of the Russian...more
2/28/2022
/ Australia ,
Canada ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Japan ,
Licensing Rules ,
New Zealand ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Sovereign Debt ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin
This is the fifth post in this year’s series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations. Our previous post discussed trends in State AG enforcement. Up next: SEC Enforcement in 2022: A Look Ahead. ...more
2/25/2022
/ Afghanistan ,
Belarus ,
Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Burma ,
Cambodia ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cuba ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Ethiopia ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Human Rights ,
International Criminal Court ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITAR ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Myanmar ,
Nicaragua ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sudan ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)
For months, the Biden administration and the governments of U.S. allies around the world have raised concerns about Russian actions in the region. In the same breath, those governments have warned of massive, coordinated...more
2/18/2022
/ Aerospace ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Belarus Sanctions ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Direct Product Rule ,
Investment Controls ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
SWIFT ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On Friday, January 28, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issued a Withhold Release Order (“WRO”) on disposable gloves produced in Malaysia by TY Industry Holdings Sdn Bhd (“YTY Group”), including YTY Industry...more
On November 3, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) added two Israeli entities to the Entity List due to malicious cyber activities. In its press release, BIS stated that the...more
11/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Israel ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List
Ransomware payments continue to be a focus of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). As previously reported by Foley Hoag, on October 1, 2020, OFAC released an advisory regarding potential...more
10/1/2021
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Ransomware ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury
New CBP Withhold Release Order Again Targets Forced Labor in the Seafood Industry August 10, 2021 On August 4, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) released a Withhold Release Order (“WRO”) on tuna and other...more
As predicted in our recent article in Power Magazine related to international trade risks facing the clean energy industry, the Biden administration took action against several Chinese companies involved in the solar power...more
On May 28, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) released the first Withhold-Release Order (“WRO”) of the Biden administration on seafood from Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. (“Dalian”), a Chinese company, due to...more
This is the second in our First 100 Days series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the early days of the Biden administration. Our previous entry discussed SEC enforcement. Up next,...more
3/17/2021
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Enforcement ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Fraud ,
Imports ,
Iran ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela
Withhold Release Orders (“WROs”) are a key part of Customs and Border Protection’s (“CBP”) efforts to enforce the Tariff Act, which prohibits the importation of merchandise mined, produced or manufactured, wholly or in part,...more
On January 1, 2021, Congress overrode President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (the "NDAA"), enacting the legislation into law. The NDAA includes the Corporate Transparency Act...more
2/3/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Business Entities ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Customers ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
NDAA ,
Presidential Veto ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Trump Administration