President Donald Trump issued a presidential order (the Order) on July 8, 2025, retroactively prohibiting the acquisition of Jupiter Systems LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, by Suirui International Co. Ltd., a Hong...more
7/18/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Business Assets ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Divestiture ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Investment ,
Hong Kong ,
Intangible Property ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
National Security ,
Risk Assessment ,
Subsidiaries ,
Tangible Property ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
In the 22nd episode of "Are We All Clear? Facilitating Security Clearances," host Marina O'Brien is joined by Washington, D.C., International Trade attorney Andrew McAllister to help break down the Defense Counterintelligence...more
7/8/2025
/ CFIUS ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Contractors ,
FOCI ,
Foreign Ownership ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
New Regulations ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Security Clearance
The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) published a press release on May 9, 2025, announcing an updated Standard Form 328 (SF-328), Certificate Pertaining to Foreign Interest. The updated form was approved...more
6/25/2025
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Defense Contracts ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Contractors ,
FOCI ,
Foreign Affiliates ,
Foreign Ownership ,
Government Agencies ,
National Security ,
Press Releases ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Risk Management
Nippon Steel Corp. and United States Steel Corp. published a press release on June 18, 2025, announcing the finalization of their merger agreement, executed on Dec. 18, 2023. Following a review by the Committee on Foreign...more
In this episode of "Are We All Clear? Facilitating Security Clearances," host Marina O'Brien talks with Robert A. Friedman, co-head of Holland & Knight's International Trade practice and a leader of the firm's National...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on May 8, 2025, announced its intent to launch a fast-track process to facilitate greater investment from allied and partner sources. The process will include the launch of a "Known...more
5/14/2025
/ CFIUS ,
Executive Orders ,
Fast Track Process ,
Foreign Investment ,
International Trade ,
Investment ,
National Security ,
Pilot Programs ,
Portal ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
President Donald Trump on Feb. 21, 2025, issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) titled "America First Investment Policy," outlining the administration's priorities regarding inbound and outbound...more
2/28/2025
/ America First Trade Policy ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
In the latest episode of "Are We All Clear? Facilitating Security Clearances," guest host Marina O'Brien talks to fellow Holland & Knight International Trade Associates Molly O'Casey and Caroline Howard about their roles as...more
President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) pausing all future investigations and enforcement actions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for at least 180 days, along with directing the U.S. attorney...more
President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) on Feb. 3, 2025, directing the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to submit a comprehensive plan within 90 days for the creation of the United States' first Sovereign...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Final Rule on outbound investment screening went into effect on Jan. 2, 2025. The Final Rule establishes a much-awaited outbound investment screening regime, implementing Executive Order...more
1/13/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
National Security ,
Outbound Transactions ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on Oct. 23, 2024, published a set of three rules concerning space-related...more
12/2/2024
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Comment Period ,
Defense Sector ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
ITAR ,
National Security ,
Outer Space ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Time Extensions ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US State Departments
In this episode of "Are We All Clear? Facilitating Security Clearances," host Molly O'Casey discusses how cleared companies follow guidelines and compliance when sharing employees or services with International Trade attorney...more
In the sixth episode of "Are We All Clear? Facilitating Security Clearances," host Molly O'Casey discusses change condition packages (CCPs) with International Trade attorney Marina O’Brien. They examine the preparation and...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department), which chairs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), published a Proposed Rule on May 5, 2023, in the Federal Register. The Proposed Rule...more
5/18/2023
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Government Property ,
National Guard ,
National Security ,
Proposed Rules ,
Real Estate Investments ,
US Air Force
Facility security clearance (FCL) sponsorship packages for U.S. government contractors currently have a rejection rate of more than 50 percent. For initial and upgrade FCL packages, there is a 70 percent rejection rate. These...more
Fufeng USA Inc. (Fufeng USA), a subsidiary of Chinese food manufacturer Fufeng Group Ltd. (Fufeng Group), announced on Dec. 13, 2022, that after an "extensive two-phase review," the Committee on Foreign Investment in the...more
1/25/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Agricultural Land ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Covered Transactions ,
Defense Production Act ,
Foreign Investment ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Investments
President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order (E.O.) on Sept. 15, 2022, clarifying and elaborating key U.S. industries and business sectors that should expect heightened regulatory scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign...more
9/20/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Export Controls ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
OSTP ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain
The Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)1 hosted its 26th Annual Conference on Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI Conference) on Aug. 25, 2022, which was attended by...more
In a letter sent to President Joe Biden on April 19, 2022, the Republican-led, special congressional task force known as the China Task Force (CTF) expressed concerns over the takeover of Newport Wafer Fab (NWF), a Welsh...more
5/24/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Semiconductors ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
UK
The U.S. government's efforts to secure sensitive personal data against foreign adversaries, primarily with an eye toward China, continue. On June 9, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on Protecting...more
6/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Personal Data ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
WeChat
President Donald Trump issued a new executive order – Executive Order Addressing the Threat Posed By Applications and Other Software Developed or Controlled By Chinese Companies – on Jan. 5, 2021, prohibiting any transaction...more