On March 29, 2024, BIS issued an interim final rule (IFR) updating and correcting its advanced computing and semiconductor regulations published in October 2023 (which we discuss here in Episode III). This marks the third...more
The EU is going extraterritorial, and it is doing so through private contract. It is a pretty neat trick.
As a general rule, EU regulations do not apply extraterritorially. This policy is a bit pointed, intended to stand...more
3/28/2024
/ Asset Freeze ,
Buyers ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Exporters ,
Exports ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Member State ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine
The EU plans to step up controls on its home grown technology. That is the short version.
The longer version is a (pretty dry) recitation of the proposed legislation and whitepapers that were published last week as the...more
Grants and tax credits, who doesn’t love them? The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is full of them, and, recent Department of Energy (DOE) Notification of a Proposed Interpretive Rule provides guidance on who will get to...more
1/15/2024
/ Automated Transportation ,
Batteries ,
Clean Energy ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Sector ,
Foreign Entities ,
Manufacturers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Renewable Energy ,
SDN List ,
Supply Chain
Export controls are the manifestation of foreign, economic, and national security policy, and the implementation of policy requires dynamic adjustment, a back-and-forth, a balance. So. on December 7, 2023, amid the tightening...more
You’d be forgiven for thinking this Global Trade Law Blog has become a Semiconductors News Blog, with all the recent updates we have published on semiconductor regulation in the past year or two. And yes, we concede the...more
On November 21, 2023, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced its largest settlement in history with the virtual currency exchange Binance. This almost-billion dollar settlement is a part of a larger...more
11/27/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement ,
Virtual Currency
On September 28, 2023, the Cybersecurity Administration of China (the “CAC”) published a set of draft Provisions on Regulating and Promoting Cross-border Data Transfer (the “Draft Rules”) to solicit public comments. It has...more
On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released a package of three rules (the 2023 Rules) targeting the Chinese semiconductor industry. The rules update the substantial semiconductor...more
10/23/2023
/ China ,
Commerce Control List ,
ECCNs ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Semiconductors ,
Software ,
Technology ,
Trade Restrictions
On August 9, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (E.O.) ordering the issuance of outbound investment restrictions. This E.O. comes after nearly a year of anticipation (as we have documented on several occasions...more
8/14/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
National Security ,
Outbound Transactions ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury
On August 9, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (E.O.) ordering the issuance of outbound investment restrictions. This E.O. comes after nearly a year of anticipation (as we have documented on several occasions...more
8/11/2023
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector
On June 23, 2023, the EU released its 11th package of sanctions on Russia. This package is designed to improve enforcement with new anti-circumvention rules, new trade restrictions, and new designations. The...more
6/26/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Crude Oil ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The United States and its allies are aiming to choke off the supplies that support the last vestiges of Russian industry. On May 19, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released new regulations implementing...more
Between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing U.S. tensions with China, U.S. export controls are in the spotlight like never before. As if regulators have not already made it clear enough, recent statements and actions...more
5/19/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Investigations ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Semiconductors ,
Ukraine
When can an employer use the “national security exception” under U.S. anti-discrimination law to make a hiring decision based on the national origin of the candidate? An often overlooked area of compliance is how to comply...more
4/27/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration ,
Immigration Procedures ,
ITAR ,
Required Documentation
The Moving Target -
We have been writing since last July about the proposed outbound investment measures that would review and possibly deny proposed outbound investments from the United States to China. Rumors swirled...more
It looks like the licensing restrictions on Huawei are trickling into effect.
Our sources indicate that, as early as February 27, all license applications for exports or transfers involving Huawei which were pending with...more
3/6/2023
/ 5G Network ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Huawei ,
License Applications ,
Semiconductors ,
Telecommunications
In response to Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, both the United States and the European Union have imposed additional sanctions and further restricted exports to Russia and Iran. These new controls span many...more
2/28/2023
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trade Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On Monday, February 13, 2023, the U.S. government will officially issue a stricter policy of denial for providing lower-tech items to Huawei.
Technological containment continues as the Netherlands and Japan move to impose...more
2/9/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
Foreign Direct Product Rule ,
Huawei ,
Japan ,
Licensing Rules ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Occasionally, on our blog, we allow ourselves to indulge in prognostication. Similarly, and also occasionally, we are wrong. Nevertheless, we hope to distinguish ourselves by our candor and admit our misses....more
1/19/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Batteries ,
Biotechnology ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Executive Orders ,
Investment ,
Investment Controls ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology
On January 5, 2023, President Biden signed into law S. 1294, the “Protecting American Intellectual Property Act of 2022”. The Act requires the president to report to Congress and impose sanctions on any foreign person or...more
1/19/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CAATSA ,
China ,
Entity List ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Entities ,
Foreign Persons ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
National Security ,
New Legislation ,
Sanctions ,
Theft ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trade Wars
As you may have heard here (and here and here), in October 2022, the United States issued sweeping measures aimed at the semiconductor industry in China. The new regulations restrict the export of semiconductors and related...more
12/21/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Japan ,
Microchip Technology ,
Netherlands ,
New Regulations ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
WTO
As we close out a wild year for international trade regulation, after hearing much talk about outbound investment review mechanisms, we may see a final dramatic change before the ball drops...more
12/21/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Executive Orders ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Relations ,
International Trade ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Technology ,
U.S. Treasury
Key Takeaways Background Since October 7, 2022, when the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) dropped 140 pages of regulations on the semiconductor industry, U.S. passport and green card holders working at Chinese chip...more
On October 21, 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) officially moved Myanmar onto the agency’s blacklist, where it joins Iran and North Korea, the only other two listed countries. It is likely that the United States...more