On May 23, 2025, 10 days after President Trump announced his directive to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria during his visit to Saudia Arabia last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...more
6/12/2025
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CAATSA ,
CFIUS ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SDN List ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
As the third month of the second Trump administration comes to a close, the lack of any public enforcement action by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctions watchers...more
4/25/2025
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Iran ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
Settlement ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine
On January 13, 2025, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that expands controls on advanced computing integrated circuits (ICs or chips) and model weights...more
2/5/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Data Centers ,
Data Security ,
ECCNs ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
On June 21, 2024, the Biden administration rolled out its outbound investment screening regulations. Last year, the Biden administration published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) that outlined the broad...more
7/11/2024
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Covered Transactions ,
Due Diligence ,
Equity Investors ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Information Technology ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Screening Procedures ,
U.S. Treasury
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law a long-debated $98 billion foreign aid and national security legislative package (the “Act”) providing funds for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine, and authorizing new sanctions...more
4/30/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Aid ,
Hamas ,
Harmonization Rules ,
Human Rights ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Israel ,
Joe Biden ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Taiwan ,
Terrorist Acts ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine
On January 29, 2024, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a proposed rule to prevent foreign actors from using U.S. cloud computing services for malicious cyber activities. The proposal...more
2/14/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
IaaS ,
Know Your Customers ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Today’s alert—the third and final installment in our Sanctions 2022 Year in Review series—provides an overview of U.S. sanctions enforcement in 2022, including the key lessons learned from the enforcement actions issued by...more
As Russia’s war in Ukraine passes the one-year mark, and the battles on the ground move forward with escalating levels of ferocity, governments around the world continue to coordinate and respond with increasingly severe...more
3/3/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Central Bank of Russia ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
After months of negotiations, Congress revealed the compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA) on December 6, 2022. The bill, viewed as a “must-pass” piece of legislation because...more
12/15/2022
/ Burma ,
China ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Human Rights ,
Iran ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain
As Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine nears the end of its second month, with regular reports of human rights violations, possible chemical weapons attacks, and head of state musings regarding whether this campaign amounts...more
4/18/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Relations ,
Japan ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
Ukraine
After less than a week of a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, the post-Cold War global architecture appears irrevocably shattered, as Western nations line up to offer support and military and economic aid to Ukraine...more
3/1/2022
/ Airspace ,
Asset Freeze ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
G7 ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SWIFT ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
United States
Morrison & Foerster’s Automotive Task Force represents automotive industry clients in their most significant legal matters.
We have tapped our multidisciplinary Automotive Task Force to get their opinions on what is likely...more
2/23/2022
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Antitrust Division ,
Automotive Industry ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Popular ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
Back in July, we took a look at the enforcement actions for the first half of 2021 issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Today’s post – the second half of our OFAC 2021 Year...more
2/9/2022
/ Cloud Storage ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Currency ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Geolocation ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
2021 was a year of transition in the United States and for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC’s year, while busy, was far different from 2020, as the Biden Administration’s...more
2/8/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Burma ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Forced Labor ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA) ,
Iran ,
NDAA ,
NGOs ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury
As we approach year’s end, and the pace of legislative activity ramps up, it remains critical to keep a close eye on the sanctions-related bills currently making their way, at varying speeds, through the U.S. legislative...more
11/9/2021
/ China ,
Corruption ,
Forced Labor ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury
After several years of foreign and domestic negotiations surrounding controls on intrusion software, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) published an interim final rule on October 21, 2021,...more
11/5/2021
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Commerce Control List ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
ECCNs ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Popular ,
Software ,
The Wassenaar Arrangement
In a keynote address at the Global Investigations Review Connect: New York conference on October 5, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General John Carlin provided insights into future Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the...more
10/15/2021
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DPA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
ITAR ,
Military Service Members ,
National Security ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Sanctions ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ,
US Department of State ,
Virtual Currency
As close observers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or “Committee”) are aware, the Committee has the authority to recommend that the President of the United States block a transaction on...more
As peak summer holiday season approaches, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) continues to remind the private sector of the importance of strict economic sanctions compliance. OFAC...more
7/15/2021
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
ITSR ,
Moneygram ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
U.S. Treasury
On April 15, 2021, following discussions just days earlier of a potential summit between President Biden and Russian President Putin and as Russian troops amassed along the Ukrainian border, the Biden Administration issued...more
4/20/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocked Person ,
CBW Act ,
Cybersecurity ,
Defense Sector ,
Espionage ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Interference in US Elections ,
Foreign Policy ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
SolarWinds ,
Sovereign Debt ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Technology Contracts ,
Technology Sector ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin
In too many ways to count, 2020 was an extraordinary year. As we move into 2021 with optimism for an end to the pandemic and better days ahead, we understand that the activity last year of the U.S. Department of the...more
2/16/2021
/ China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Maritime Transport ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Pentagon ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration