On February 21, 2025, President Trump issued a memorandum titled "America First Investment Policy" (the “Policy”), outlining new measures to shape U.S. investment policy. Though the Policy makes it clear that the United...more
On January 13, 2025, the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced new rules restricting the export of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips and certain closed AI model weights in an...more
2/3/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Direct Product Rule ,
International Trade ,
Licensing Rules ,
National Security ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Senator Cornyn made the above statement on the Senate floor on November 14, 2023, while advocating for his colleagues to pass the Outbound Investment Transparency Act as part of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act...more
2/3/2025
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Technology Sector ,
Transparency
In a move that highlights the U.S. government’s ongoing fight against evasion of sanctions and export control laws, the Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, and Justice yesterday published yet another Tri-Seal Compliance...more
On February 23, 2024, on the brink of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Biden announced additional sanctions and export controls against Russia and entities in third countries that have...more
2/26/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Ensuring compliance with U.S. export controls, import regulations, and economic sanctions is common practice for companies that engage in international trade. These companies often have internal compliance policies and due...more
The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued an Alert on April 17, 2023, warning U.S. persons about the possible evasion of the price cap imposed by the Department of Treasury on Russian oil. Pursuant to...more
This week’s episode covers the “new trend” of suing and challenging OFAC decisions and discusses some recent lawsuits against OFAC. Host Olga Torres is joined by Erich Ferrari, Founder and Principal Attorney of Ferrari &...more
On February 24, 2023, the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the White House announced a series of actions that the U.S. and Group of 7 (“G7”) will take to support Ukraine and impose further costs on...more
2/27/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
G7 ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Tariffs ,
Ukraine ,
World Bank
In this episode, host Olga Torres is joined by David Laufman, former Chief of the Counterintelligence and Export Controls Section, “CES,” at the Department of Justice to discuss high-profile sanctions and export enforcement...more
We Are Delighted To Announce The Launching Of The Torres Talks Trade Podcast
During the podcast trade lawyers and subject matter expert guests discuss timely topics on trade and national security in an informal and...more
On May 23, 2022, President Joe Biden, when asked whether the United States would get involved militarily if China invaded Taiwan, answered firmly, “Yes. That’s the commitment we made.” As the world watches the war in Ukraine,...more
6/1/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Imports ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Taiwan ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
As the U.S. and the European Union continue to impose new sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, regulatory authorities continue their pursuit of companies and individuals who violate those sanctions. The...more
4/28/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
Ukraine
Civil and criminal penalties levied against U.S. companies for trade violations are just the beginning of the potential unforeseen costs of doing business in the global marketplace. What cannot be quantified are the countless...more
1/26/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Imports ,
ITAR ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes
On September 21, 2021, in a first-of-it-kind action, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) imposed economic sanctions on SUEX OTC, S.R.O. (“SUEX”), a virtual currency exchange, for...more
10/27/2021
/ Blocked Person ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Regulatory Violations ,
SDN List