On August 9, 2022, President Biden signed into law the highly anticipated CHIPS Act of 2022 (the “CHIPS Act”). Presented as being crucial to ensuring U.S. leadership in global chip production and technical capability against...more
8/30/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Executive Orders ,
Manufacturers ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
Research and Development ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Tax Credits ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) sanctioned the popular decentralized virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash on August 8, 2022, continuing the U.S. government’s efforts to target...more
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (the “Uyghur Act”) came into effect on June 21, 2022. As we described previously, the Uyghur Act establishes a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced, or manufactured, in...more
As part of its continuing response to Russia’s ongoing hostilities in Ukraine, the United States recently imposed additional sanctions and export controls targeting Russia...more
The United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom recently imposed new Russia-related sanctions in response to Russia’s continued hostilities in Ukraine...more
The United States and its allies continue to ramp up pressure on Russia and Belarus in response to Russia’s continued hostilities in Ukraine. In this alert, we describe the latest export, import, and investment bans and...more
The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) has adjusted U.S. export controls in ways that dramatically limit unlicensed supply to Russia or Belarus of many types of software with encryption...more
Building on the “first tranche” of sanctions announced on February 22, 2022 described in our prior alert, the United States, the EU, the UK, and their allies have imposed (or announced the imposition of) additional...more
3/1/2022
/ Blocking Sanctions ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SWIFT ,
Ukraine ,
Virtual Currency
In response to the Russian government’s recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics of Ukraine (the “Covered Regions”) as states and deployment of Russian troops to the Covered Regions, the United States and its...more
On September 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced several actions focused on disrupting criminal digital finance infrastructure, including virtual currency...more
10/13/2021
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
Virtual Currency
The U.S. government is expanding international trade restraints against Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (“Huawei”) and its affiliates in an effort to further restrict Huawei’s access to U.S. technologies.....more
8/20/2020
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Huawei ,
National Security ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration
On May 1, 2020, the President issued Executive Order 13920, “Securing the United States Bulk-Power System” (“E.O. 13920”) to address what the Trump Administration considers to be national security threats to the U.S....more
6/17/2020
/ Bulk Electric System ,
CFIUS ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Suppliers ,
National Security ,
Power Purchase Agreements ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration
To further implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”), the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) has issued proposed regulations that would require parties to...more
3/12/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Comment Period ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Filing Fees ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
A recent federal criminal action shows the depth of the U.S. government’s concern about the use of cryptocurrency (or virtual currency) to violate economic sanctions laws and the lengths to which it will go to charge such...more
1/24/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Geo-Blocking ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Strict Compliance ,
Strict Liability ,
Virtual Currency
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") issued final regulations on January 13, 2020 to comprehensively implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 ("FIRRMA") (the...more
1/21/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Change of Control ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Filing Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Security ,
New Regulations ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sensitive Personal Information
On November 27, 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) published a proposed rule, “Securing the Information and Communication Technology and Services Supply Chain,” that would implement Executive Order 13873 of...more
12/23/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Factoring Transactions ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
National Security ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has published proposed regulations that, when finalized, will...more
9/30/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Personal Data ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Real Estate Market ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Technology Sector
On November 19, 2018, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") published a notice of proposed rulemaking requesting public comment on the U.S. government's process for identifying "emerging...more
As described in our prior alert, November 5, 2018 marked the full return ("snapback") of U.S. Iran-related sanctions measures lifted or waived pursuant to the Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or...more
11/13/2018
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration
Building on prior extensive Russia-related sanctions, the U.S. government has further sanctioned Russia by intensifying controls on exports and reexports to the country. Alone, this step is unlikely to affect major volumes of...more
Congress has agreed upon two pieces of legislation soon to be signed by the President that will provide for a major expansion in the (i) screening by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") of...more
8/6/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Export Control Reform (ECR) ,
Exports ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
Investment Funds ,
Jurisdiction ,
Licenses ,
National Security ,
Pending Legislation ,
Popular ,
Screening Procedures ,
Technology Sector ,
Technology Transfer Agreements ,
Trump Administration
Crucial Points -
Previously Lifted or Waived Sanctions Measures Coming Back Into Effect: On May 8, 2018, the U.S. President terminated U.S. participation in the Iran nuclear agreement. As a result, U.S. Iran-related...more
On April 15, 2018, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") imposed a "denial order" against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation ("ZTE Corporation") and ZTE Kangxun...more
On April 6, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") expanded U.S. sanctions relating to Russia by "blocking" seven prominent Russian businessmen, 12 companies, 17 senior Russian...more
On April 3, the Office of the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") identified hundreds of Chinese products against which it proposes to impose 25 percent import duties under Sections 301 and 304 of the Trade Act of...more
4/6/2018
/ Aluminum Sales ,
China ,
Imports ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR ,
WTO