Every week, scores of U.S. companies are sold to foreign investors or execute equity financing transactions involving foreign investors. Parties to these transactions must assess whether they are legally required to file...more
On October 21, 2021, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published a rule that will restrict some exports, reexports, and other overseas transfers of equipment, software, and technology...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
President Biden issued a new Executive Order 14024 (“E.O. 14024”) on April 15, 2021, expanding sanctions against Russia. E.O. 14024 authorizes, for the first time, U.S. sanctions against Russian technology companies and,...more
4/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Crimea ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Defense Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
SolarWinds ,
Sovereign Debt ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Technology Contracts
In March 2021, three federal agencies promulgated international trade restraints as part of the Biden Administration’s response to alleged mistreatment of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny in 2020. Specifically, the...more
3/31/2021
/ Arms Embargo ,
Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CAATSA ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Projects ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Infrastructure ,
ITAR ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trade Restrictions ,
US Trade Policies ,
Vessels
On December 18, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced the addition of 77 new entities, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (“SMIC”), to the Entity List. ...more
2/12/2021
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Licensing Rules ,
Military End Use ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Semiconductors
In response to a U.S. government consensus that trade with China involves grave national security risks, the Trump Administration promulgated a broad series of China-directed export controls, economic sanctions and import...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocking Statutes ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Human Rights ,
Infrastructure ,
Military End Use ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Trade Policies
On January 5, 2021, President Trump issued Executive Order 13971 (the “Executive Order”) that provides for prohibitions on U.S. persons engaging in transactions with persons that develop or control any of the following eight...more
1/11/2021
/ China ,
Data Collection ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Social Media ,
Software ,
Trump Administration
Late last week, a Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order granting a motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction forbidding implementation of sanctions against...more
9/21/2020
/ China ,
Data Collection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
First Amendment ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration
Last week, the Department of Commerce took steps to implement sanctions targeting China’s mobile applications WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd. (“WeChat Sanctions”), and TikTok, owned by ByteDance Ltd. (“ByteDance”)...more
As anticipated in our prior alert, yesterday the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) published a final rule that ties CFIUS’s mandatory filing requirement for certain “critical technology”...more
9/16/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
ITAR ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements
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
As noted in our recent alert, President Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (“HKAA”) on July 14, 2020. On the same day, the President also issued an Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization (the “Executive...more
Yesterday, after unanimous passage by the U.S. Congress, President Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (“HKAA”) in retaliation against China for it's “Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong...more
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
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) issued a proposed rule on May 21, 2020 that would: (a) modify the scope of the mandatory filing regime for certain “critical technology” transactions by...more
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (“BEA”) collects statistics related to U.S. international investment and trade in services. This alert summarizes a current BEA reporting requirement related to...more
Today the U.S. Commerce Department published an interim final rule to amend the so-called direct product rule of the Export Administration Regulations to target certain transfers of items tied to Huawei and Huawei entities...more
On May 1, 2020, the President issued Executive Order 13920, “Securing the United States Bulk-Power System (“E.O. 13920”),” to authorize restrictions on “bulk-power system electric equipment” if there is a connection to a...more
For the first time, starting on May 1, 2020, parties that submit formal notices to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) with respect to covered foreign investment transactions and covered real...more
The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”) issued an extensive Fact Sheet on April 16, 2020 regarding the provision of humanitarian assistance and trade to combat COVID-19 in compliance with...more
4/17/2020
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
FEMA ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Medical Supplies ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Protective Equipment
It has been an active last week in the world of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). In addition to CFIUS’s publication of proposed regulations that would impose filing fees for parties’...more
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
On January 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) released Version 1.0 of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) framework (CMMC overview here; CMMC Version 1.0 and appendices here). By 2026, DoD...more
3/6/2020
/ Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain
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