Key Points -
- Political transitions in the West notwithstanding, we expect economic sanctions to remain a key response to geopolitical issues.
- Current sanctions policy priorities are unlikely to shift markedly in...more
1/20/2025
/ China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The past weeks and months have brought about tremendous political change in the West, as we move toward a new U.S. administration, a new College of Commissioners in Brussels and a new Polish presidency of the Council of the...more
11/13/2024
/ Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Middle East ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
US Trade Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On April 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law a high-profile package of national security legislation (Public Law 118-50). While most press reports focused on the spending elements of the package (appropriating funds...more
5/3/2024
/ Asset Freeze ,
Asset Seizure ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
Investors ,
Joe Biden ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
New Legislation ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
On March 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by imposing “end user” export control restrictions against...more
3/26/2024
/ Blocked Person ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
New Rules ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SDN List
On October 18, 2023, following the signing of an electoral roadmap between Venezuela’s Unitary Platform and representatives of the Maduro regime, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)...more
In a rule effective August 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) expanded nuclear nonproliferation controls on China, as part of the U.S. government’s latest efforts to address...more
8/18/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Commerce Control List ,
End-Users ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Final Rules ,
Licensing Rules ,
Military End Use ,
National Security ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US Trade Policies
On August 9, 2023, after more than a year of deliberations, the Biden administration finally released an executive order (the Order) directing the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to create a new regulatory program to...more
8/11/2023
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cybersecurity ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Technology Sector
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) National Security Division (NSD), the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign...more
8/1/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers
Through a series of coordinated actions in May 2023, the United States launched a whole-of-government effort to expand and strengthen enforcement of its sanctions campaign against Russia as the conflict in Ukraine continues...more
6/6/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia
Takeaways -
Chinese investments requiring CFIUS review have declined as the U.S. scrutinizes those transactions aggressively, and rules governing interactions with “Chinese military-industrial complex companies” have been...more
On June 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued its first government-wide priorities (Priorities) for combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism.1...more
7/22/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Human Trafficking ,
Internal Controls ,
National Security ,
Terrorist Financing ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations
On June 3, 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14032 (EO 14032) amending and, in effect, recasting Executive Order 13959 of November 12, 2020 (EO 13959), which restricted U.S. persons from purchasing and selling...more
Sanctions -
The Biden administration has made clear that economic sanctions will continue to be an important U.S. foreign policy tool and has initiated a comprehensive review of current sanctions policies and practices....more
On April 15, 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14024, titled the “Executive Order on Blocking Property With Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation,” which...more
On November 12, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13959 prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in any transaction in publicly traded securities in “Communist Chinese military companies” (CCMCs), effective January...more
11/18/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Relations ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Transactions ,
Trump Administration
On October 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve, together with FinCEN, “the Agencies”)...more
11/11/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
FATF ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Fund Transfers ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transmitter ,
National Security ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Public Comment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Travel Rule ,
Virtual Currency
On January 29-30, 2019, Skadden and Han Kun Law Offices co-hosted two seminars — first in New York, then in Washington, D.C. — titled “Enforcement Focus on China: What Companies Should Do to Be Prepared.” Topics included the...more
2/11/2019
/ Anti-Corruption ,
China ,
Civil Liability ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extradition ,
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Defendants ,
Foreign Policy ,
International Litigation ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
Trump Administration
On August 27, 2018, the U.S. Department of State implemented the first tranche of new sanctions on Russia under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act (the CBW Act). The enactment of these...more
9/10/2018
/ Arms Export Control Act ,
Aviation Industry ,
CBW Act ,
Chemical Warfare ,
Dual Use Goods ,
Economic Sanctions ,
End-Users ,
Exports ,
Foreign Assistance Programs ,
Licensing Rules ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
State Funding ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Subsidiaries ,
Technology ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US Department of State
On March 7, 2017, the United States announced that China’s Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. and their respective affiliates (collectively, ZTE) had agreed to a record...more
3/10/2017
/ Attorney General ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Embargo ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITAR ,
National Security ,
North Korea ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Plea Agreements ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement ,
Software ,
Telecommunications
Throughout the eight years of the Obama administration, the development and implementation of economic sanctions was a key element of U.S. foreign and national security policy. This strategy continued into the post-election...more
2/1/2017
/ Barack Obama ,
Cuba ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Embargo ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
P5+1 Nations ,
Russia ,
Secretary of State ,
State Sponsors of Terrorism ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine