Throughout December, the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom adopted a series of new sanctions packages against Russia that are expansive and multilayered and pose additional compliance challenges.
The new...more
1/11/2024
/ Compliance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Imports ,
Jurisdiction ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil Prices ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Software ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
Executive Summary - On March 2, 2021, the Biden Administration, in a coordinated announcement by the U.S. Departments of Treasury, State, and Commerce, tightened export restrictions against Russia and imposed sanctions and...more
3/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Chemical Weapons ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime ,
Human Rights ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) on October 5, 2020, published a final rule implementing new export controls on six categories of emerging technology. In doing so, the U.S. government...more
President Trump signed into law the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”) on August 13, 2018. FIRRMA made several substantial changes to the CFIUS process and expanded the scope of the...more
9/22/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exports ,
Final Rules ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Mandatory Declarations ,
NAICS ,
Non-US Entities ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (“the Notice”), on August 27, 2020, announcing the initiation of its review of foundational technologies...more
9/5/2020
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Commodities ,
ECCNs ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Popular ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Request For Information ,
Software ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The U.S.-China trade war continues to escalate, most recently fueled by U.S. concerns over China’s assertion of increasing authority over Hong Kong. The U.S. and Chinese governments have exchanged jabs through the use of...more
7/17/2020
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exceptions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Free Speech ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Freedom of the Press ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA) ,
Human Rights ,
Open General Export Licences (OGELs) ,
Popular ,
Revocation ,
Right to Peaceful Assembly ,
SDN List ,
Section 301 ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Wars ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
United States
On April 28, 2020, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published two final rules and one proposed rule targeting national security controlled exports and reexports to China, Russia, and...more
4/30/2020
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Commerce Control List ,
ECCNs ,
End-Users ,
Exemptions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Final Rules ,
Licensing Rules ,
Military End Use ,
National Security ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US Trade Policies ,
Venezuela
Key Takeaways
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) issued a regulation allowing companies to export personal protective equipment (“PPE”) in 10 defined circumstances discussed below.
- U.S. Customs and...more
4/22/2020
/ Border Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Delays ,
Duties ,
Executive Orders ,
Exemptions ,
Exports ,
FEMA ,
Imports ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Relief Measures ,
State of Emergency ,
Tariff Act of 1930 ,
Time Extensions ,
Trump Administration
The outbreak of COVID-19 is impacting international trade as global markets deal with uncertain supply and companies and governments work to ensure personal safety while developing contingency plans for handling the virus. In...more
3/12/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
General Licenses ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Supplies ,
Multinationals ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Management ,
Sanction Violations ,
Supply Chain
On January 15, 2020, U.S. President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a Phase 1 trade deal between the countries. The agreement includes a pledge from China to increase its imports of U.S. goods and services by...more
1/17/2020
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anti-Dumping Duty ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Counterfeit Goods Regulation ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Exports ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Goods or Services ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Subsidies ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Transfer Agreements ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Negotiations ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trade Wars ,
Trademarks ,
Trump Administration ,
United States ,
WTO
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) published an interim final rule on December 26, 2019, bringing the International Traffic in Arms Regulations’ (“ITAR”) treatment of encrypted electronic...more
1/9/2020
/ Cloud Computing ,
Defense Sector ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Encryption ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Persons ,
ITAR ,
Licensing Rules
On December 13, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a new policy for companies that voluntarily disclose potential criminal violations of U.S. sanctions and export control laws to the DOJ’s National Security...more
12/21/2019
/ Aggravating Factors ,
Amended Rules ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cooperation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Remediation ,
Sanction Violations ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Successor Liability ,
Voluntary Disclosure
The U.S. Government has instituted a major new initiative to regulate emerging technology, potentially including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, data analytics and many other types of emerging technology,...more
11/19/2018
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biotechnology ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Commerce Control List ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Export Control Reform (ECR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Investment ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Public Comment ,
Research and Development ,
Robotics ,
Trump Administration
On November 5, 2018, applicable wind-down periods for certain transactions with Iran ended and the second and final set of U.S. secondary sanctions that had been lifted pursuant to the Iran nuclear deal – the Joint...more
11/7/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Exports ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Petroleum ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Shipping ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
Trump Administration
On August 24, 2018, the U.S. Department of State announced a new but limited export licensing policy for defense and national security-sensitive goods and technology to Russia, effective August 27, 2018. The export licensing...more
8/27/2018
/ Chemical Weapons ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Government Officials ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
UK ,
US State Departments
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued updated general licenses and related guidance in connection with sanctions imposed in April on certain Russian individuals and entities...more
The United States announced new sanctions against the Venezuelan Government on August 25, 2017 that target the government’s ability to access U.S. debt and equity markets. The measures are intended to pressure Venezuelan...more
8/30/2017
/ Debt Instruments ,
Debt-Equity ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Human Rights ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
SSI List ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) imposed sanctions on additional Russian and Crimean persons while also issuing a general license authorizing certain transactions with a...more
Despite the easing of sanctions on Iran on 16 January under the Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action (JCPOA), some prohibitions and licensing requirements continue to apply to EU businesses. These are summarised below,...more
1/19/2016
/ Dual Use Goods ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Licenses ,
Military End Use ,
Military Goods ,
Nuclear Power ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
UN Security Council
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) added the Yuzhno-Kirinskoye Field, a Russian oil and gas field, to the Entity List on August 7, 2015. The action effectively prohibits all persons from...more
In response to recent events in Ukraine, the United States and European Union imposed yet another round of sanctions this week. In response, Russia is considering a number of countermeasures that may affect U.S. and EU...more