If your company is like many, your board of directors may be demanding that you put more effort into environmental, social, and governance issues, which have become known by the now-ubiquitous acronym “ESG.” Those demands...more
10/11/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Customs ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Ethical Standards ,
Exports ,
Forced Labor ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Sanctions ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Policy
On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government and installed an army general as head of state, with a cadre of military officials and their allies running the government. ...more
Key Takeaways:
• Threatened 25% tariffs on French luxury goods are suspended.
• USTR is still looking at tariffs in retaliation for taxes on U.S. global tech companies.
• Biden’s new USTR will face immense pressure to...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Customs ,
Duties ,
EU ,
Exports ,
France ,
Germany ,
Imports ,
IRS ,
Luxury Goods ,
Section 301 ,
Spain ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Rates ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
USTR
On October 15, 2020, CFIUS will officially tie mandatory filings to U.S. export control regimes, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). While that...more
On September 19, 2020, China took a new strategic position in its ongoing trade confrontation with the United States. The Ministry of Commerce of the PRC (“MOFCOM”) issued Regulations on Unreliable Entity List (“UEL”) and...more
Hiring employees does not usually call to mind international trade compliance obligations. However, together U.S. export controls and anti-discrimination laws create a web that is overlooked or misunderstood by many types of...more
9/3/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
ITAR
What is the next move in the China-U.S. trade war? Where does the U.S. currently stand, what changes in exports have been implemented since the beginning of the trade war, and how might the war impact the growth of the...more
On Tuesday, May 19, the U.S. Commerce Department published a regulation (effective May 15, 2020) that prohibits sale to Huawei of a microchip made to a Huawei specification, made outside the United States with non-U.S....more
Is your company in a high-risk zone? Does it have the following risk characteristics?
? Your company imports more than $10 million of goods.
? You are mid-market: between $50 million and $2 billion in annual turnover.
?...more
The most pressing question around the new FIRRMA regulations is “Will my transaction be covered?” To provide a bit of guidance on that point, we present an illustration from our upcoming Second Edition of The CFIUS Book due...more
1/29/2020
/ Australia ,
Canada ,
CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Encryption ,
Exceptions ,
Exports ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Filing Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
National Security ,
Private Equity ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Software ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
The U.S. Department of Commerce is considering tightening export controls in two major ways. The changes are aimed at choking off supplies to Huawei, but the move could impact a wide range of commercial transactions for all...more
12/19/2019
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Huawei ,
Manufacturers ,
National Security ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On May 16, 2019, a sweeping U.S. export control rule went into effect that will impact the U.S. tech industry, but may also create an outsized risk for non-U.S. manufacturers. The rule, issued by the U.S. Department of...more
5/22/2019
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Huawei ,
Manufacturers ,
National Security ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department
• Emerging technology sectors are being reviewed now for new export controls that could take effect in 2019 (list below).
• You may submit comments on the criteria the U.S. government will use to determine what technologies...more
12/11/2018
/ Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Nationals ,
National Security ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Technology Sector
Key Takeaways:
• Emerging technology sectors will soon be subject to new export controls.
• Affected sectors include biotech, computing, artificial intelligence, positioning and navigation, data analytics, additive...more
11/19/2018
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Public Comment ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday, July 10, expanding and increasing the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The bill is called the Foreign Investment Risk...more
7/16/2018
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exemptions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
NATO ,
Pending Legislation ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
1. All sanctions on Iran that were in place before January 2016 will be re-imposed no later than November, 4 2018.
2. Secondary sanctions that penalize non-U.S. persons doing business with Iran will be reinstated.
3....more
5/14/2018
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Goods or Services ,
Imports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration
After weeks of negotiations and a Putin-backed delay, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2270 on March 2, 2016, imposing new sanctions against North Korea. According to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry,...more
3/4/2016
/ Arms Embargo ,
Asset Freeze ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
North Korea ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
UN Security Council ,
Vessels ,
WMD
The Open Road: Approaching the TPPan -
Summarizing the behemoth 12-nation TPP agreement in a few-hundred word blog is a task beyond the reach of a practicing attorney . . . assuming he wants to continue practicing. In...more
After a twelve-year standoff that saw the United States and Europe ratchet up sanctions pressure on Iran, a diplomatic breakthrough has been reached. But robust trade between Iran and the West will not arise immediately,...more
7/19/2015
/ EU ,
Exports ,
IFCA ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Manufacturers ,
NDAA ,
Non-US Entities ,
Nuclear Power ,
Nuclear Weapons
On December 30 the Commerce Department shifted the oil export landscape as it had existed for 40 years, with only a little administrative sleight-of-hand. ...more
Here is a summary of export data for the first year after the initial implementation of ECR:
There have been over 61,000 shipments of 600 series items since October 2013.
The 600 series exports are valued at...more
In the country pubs of Ireland, it has long been the practice of the barkeep to “stand the third round” for good customers, meaning to offer the third drink for free. The practice makes sense both as customer appreciation...more
If you manufacture or export Auxiliary Military Equipment controlled under Category XIII of the U.S. Munitions List, you may rightly consider the category number unlucky. The current scope of Category XIII controls is broad...more
In Episode I: The Basics we noted that U.S. Export Control Reform may be causing confusion and consternation among those who will have to take the first theoretical rule changes and apply them in real and practical...more
The first major wave of the much-discussed U.S. Export Control Reform measures will break on October 15, 2013 as the first round of rule changes take effect. While many in the affected industries expect that the October...more