The updated version of the EU Blocking Regulation enters into force On 7 August 2018, the EU published: (1) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1100 (Amending Regulation)...more
The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), included in the reconciled Conference Report of the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act, substantially expands the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign...more
8/6/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Amended Rules ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Defense Production Act ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Funds ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
NDAA ,
Private Equity ,
Venture Capital
Congress has moved closer to expanding the jurisdiction and powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the U.S. interagency committee that conducts national security reviews of foreign...more
8/2/2018
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Passive Activity ,
Pending Legislation ,
Trump Administration
Driven by concerns of China’s acquisition of advanced U.S. technologies, the U.S. Congress is set to enact the most significant reform to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in over a decade....more
6/29/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Covered Transactions ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
Passive Investments ,
Pending Legislation ,
Trump Administration
On 6 June 2018, the European Commission ("Commission") adopted a draft Delegated Regulation expanding the scope of Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 ("EU Blocking Regulation") to include the extra-territorial aspects of the...more
6/8/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Covered Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Relations ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
Currently the UK, as a Member State of the EU, adopts UK and EU sanctions through EU Council decisions and regulations, brought into effect in the UK by Section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972....more
Today, the Trump Administration designated multiple Russian targets, including several wealthy individuals and their companies, as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs). These designations of major companies represent the...more
As the UK urgently negotiates a bespoke trade agreement with the EU, it must also look to retain over 40 free trade agreements with non-EU nations. ...more
On Monday, 29 January, the U.S. Treasury Department submitted an unclassified report to Congress concerning significant senior political figures and oligarchs in the Russian Federation and Russian parastatal entities.
...more
On 22 January 2018, the Council of the EU adopted two Implementing Regulations related to the EU restrictive measures targeting designated persons in Venezuela and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ("DPRK")....more
THE EU PLANS TO START REVIEWING FOREIGN INVESTMENTS: A MODEST AMBITION?
The past months have witnessed intense discussions at European and national level on the need to review foreign investment flows in sensitive sectors....more
The European Union (EU) has recently proposed new rules establishing a framework for the review of foreign investments in the EU on the grounds of security or public order (“Commission Proposal”)....more
On 27 October, the U.S. Department of State published guidance with respect to Russia’s Defense and Intelligence sectors under section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries The Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Section 231...more
Yesterday, on October 12, 2017, the U.S. permanently revoked most sanctions against Sudan. This lifting represents the completion of a process that began in January 2017, and was extended in July 2017. ...more
10/13/2017
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Banking Sector ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Commerce Control List ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Medical Devices ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
SDN List ,
State Sponsors of Terrorism ,
Sudan ,
Universities
Press reports indicate that President Trump intends to “de-certify” the Iran nuclear deal this week. In practical terms, that means he would refuse to re-certify one or more statutory elements of a law passed by the U.S....more
On 8 August 2017, the European Union Financial Sanctions (Amendment of Information Provisions) Regulations 2017 (the "Regulations") will come into force. The Regulations "expand the scope of the reporting requirements set out...more
On 12 July 2017, the German Federal Government significantly reinforced the barriers for the acquisition of German companies by non-EU companies. The new Regulation for the Amendment of the Foreign Trade and Payments...more
7/18/2017
/ Cloud Computing ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Defense Sector ,
EU ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Germany ,
Information Technology ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Software ,
Telecommunications Act ,
Voting Rights
U.S. trading partners have begun to signal their plans to consider retaliatory measures in response to President Trump’s Section 232 Investigations on steel imports. In particular, European Union (EU) officials recently...more
7/18/2017
/ Dairy Farmers ,
EU ,
Food Supply ,
Imports ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Section 232 ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Wine & Alcohol
Has the Court’s opinion on the EU Singapore FTA shaped future EU trade agreements and a future EU-UK FTA?
The Opinion clarifies the EU competence to conclude trade agreements. The ability of the EU to conclude an...more
While much attention has been focused on the Trump Administration's recent actions targeting imports of metals, lumber, and other commodities, the Administration has also steadily ramped up its activities in the trade...more
5/1/2017
/ Chemical Weapons ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Imports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
On April 3, 2017, the Council of the European Union approved a new regulation intended to prevent the trade in conflict minerals, which followed the approval of the European Parliament on March 16, 2017. This puts an end to...more
A number of very significant changes are being made to the UK anti-money laundering regime.
Of particular interest to the private equity industry will be the proposed new criminal offence of failure to prevent the...more
1/30/2017
/ AML/CFT ,
Banking Sector ,
Money Laundering ,
National Crime Agency (NCA) ,
Private Equity ,
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Tax Evasion ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act
This week, the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, set out the UK Government's long-awaited position on what the UK out of the EU should look like. The announcement of what is generally thought of as a "hard Brexit" negotiating...more
1/19/2017
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
EU ,
EU Single Market ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Global Market ,
Member State ,
Referendums ,
Tax Rates ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
WTO