Besides certain expansions on remittances in 2022, the White House, on Jan. 14, 2025, issued a statement announcing President Joe Biden's plans to relax sanctions on Cuba through a series of broad measures aimed at improving...more
1/17/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cuba ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
State Sponsors of Terrorism ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Final Rule on outbound investment screening went into effect on Jan. 2, 2025. The Final Rule establishes a much-awaited outbound investment screening regime, implementing Executive Order...more
1/13/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
National Security ,
Outbound Transactions ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has finalized significant changes to the registration fees under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The Arms Export Control Act...more
12/12/2024
/ Arms Export Control Act ,
Comment Period ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Export Controls ,
Filing Fees ,
Final Rules ,
ITAR ,
Licenses ,
Registration Requirement ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Statutory Authority ,
US State Departments
President-Elect Donald Trump on Nov. 25, 2024, announced his intention to impose additional 10 percent tariffs on China, as well as additional 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada. He has not yet indicated which authority...more
12/5/2024
/ Canada ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Mexico ,
Retaliatory Tariffs ,
Section 301 ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
In the latest episode of "Are We All Clear?", host Molly O'Casey and national security attorney Antonia Tzinova discuss Section 847 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), aimed at mitigating Foreign Ownership,...more
The U.S. Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on Oct. 23, 2024, published a set of three rules concerning space-related...more
12/2/2024
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Comment Period ,
Defense Sector ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
ITAR ,
National Security ,
Outer Space ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Time Extensions ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US State Departments
The 11th episode of "Are We All Clear? Facilitating Security Clearances" explores the role of outside directors and proxy holders within the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) framework and their...more
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or Committee) on Aug. 14, 2024, announced its largest-ever enforcement action and launched a new section of its website dedicated to enforcement. In addition to...more
The U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of State have been continuously easing restrictions on export-controlled trade between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to foster technological innovation...more
8/29/2024
/ Amended Rules ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Australia ,
CFIUS ,
Comment Period ,
Cybersecurity ,
Defense Sector ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Innovative Technology ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
ITAR ,
Military Goods ,
National Security ,
Proposed Rules ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
UK ,
US State Departments
In the ninth episode of "Are We All Clear? Facilitating Security Clearances," host Molly O'Casey and International Trade attorney Antonia Tzinova delve into the critical aspects of due diligence for facility and personnel...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Investment Security on June 21, 2024, issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Proposed Rule) implementing Executive Order (E.O.) 14105 that was announced on Aug. 9, 2023,...more
6/27/2024
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
China ,
Comment Period ,
Executive Orders ,
Hong Kong ,
Macau ,
National Security ,
NPRM ,
Outbound Transactions ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury
In the seventh episode of "Are We All Clear? Facilitating Security Clearances," host Molly O'Casey delves into the pivotal role of Facility Security Officers (FSOs), providing valuable insights into responsibilities, the...more
Almost six years after the enactment of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS),...more
5/13/2024
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Penalties ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Request For Information ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on Jan. 18, 2024, evaluating foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land. The report found that foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land grew to over 40...more
In the latest episode of "Are We All Clear? Facilitating Security Clearances," host Molly O'Casey engages in an insightful conversation with Antonia Tzinova, leader of Holland & Knight's CFIUS and Industrial Security Team....more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 44A (GL 44A) on April 17, 2024, replacing and superseding General License 44 (GL 44). On Oct. 18, 2023, OFAC suspended...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on March 6, 2024, issued a Tri-Seal...more
3/15/2024
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
FinCEN ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
The Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) released a joint notice on Oct. 5, 2023, providing clarifying guidance to agencies on facility security clearances for joint ventures in the National Industrial Security...more
The Biden Administration issued the long-anticipated Executive Order (E.O.) on Aug. 9, 2023, requiring notification of, and in some cases prohibiting, U.S. investments in companies engaged in the semiconductors and...more
8/14/2023
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Electronics ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Investment ,
Hong Kong ,
Macau ,
National Security ,
Notice Requirements ,
Outbound Transactions ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) took a number of actions under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) on May 19, 2023. Here are some of the key U.S. export control actions...more
5/25/2023
/ Belarus ,
Belarus Sanctions ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Commerce Control List ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
FinCEN ,
Globally Harmonized System ,
Iran ,
Military End Use ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Tariffs ,
Ukraine
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department), which chairs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), published a Proposed Rule on May 5, 2023, in the Federal Register. The Proposed Rule...more
5/18/2023
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Government Property ,
National Guard ,
National Security ,
Proposed Rules ,
Real Estate Investments ,
US Air Force
Facility security clearance (FCL) sponsorship packages for U.S. government contractors currently have a rejection rate of more than 50 percent. For initial and upgrade FCL packages, there is a 70 percent rejection rate. These...more
The Biden Administration continues to place pressure on Russia, and on Feb. 24, 2023, marked the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine with additional sanctions, export controls and tariffs. These new policies...more
3/6/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocked Person ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
General Licenses ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Tariffs ,
Ukraine
In the past year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the U.S. Department of State's Directorate of...more
3/1/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
International Trade ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
Following enactment of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) updated its regulations to include three significant changes:...more