The United States has taken a historic step by terminating the Syria Sanctions Program, marking the most significant shift in U.S. foreign policy towards Syria since the fall of the Assad regime. In our earlier post, we...more
7/22/2025
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
In a significant shift in international policy, the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom have each taken steps to ease sanctions on Syria, aiming to support the country’s reconstruction and political transition...more
You know who your friends are. You’ve known them for a long time, you understand one another, and, importantly, you trust each other.
Well, countries have friends too. Maybe country-friends have similar foreign and...more
10/30/2024
/ Australia ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
ITAR ,
Licensing Rules ,
NASA ,
Outer Space ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Satellites ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
USML
This week of September 16, Paris will play host to the biggest spectacle of the year (sorry, Olympics), the World Space Business Week. Attendees will come from around the world to discuss advancements in commercial space and...more
9/16/2024
/ AUKUS ,
Australia ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Infrastructure ,
ITAR ,
Satellites ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
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
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 July 7, 2022, the Treasury Department laid out how it would work with its overseas counterparts and in international forums as the U.S. studies cryptocurrencies to set up a possible regulatory regime. This framework is the...more
On April 29, 2022, the UK introduced new measures to prevent the provision of internet services to or for the benefit of designated persons. These measures apply to the whole territory of the UK and to conduct by UK persons...more
Updated as of April 12, 2022 -
It has now been more than 40 days since the start of Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Today, following the recent revelations of the atrocities committed in Bucha, Ukraine by Russian armed...more
4/13/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Belarus Sanctions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
G7 ,
General Licenses ,
Investment ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trading Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Updated as of February 25, 2022 -
Key Takeaways of EU and UK Recent Actions Against Russia and Ukraine Breakaway Regions -
The EU adopted the first tranche of sanctions restrictions targeting financial institutions, other...more
U.S. Comprehensive Sanctions Against the DNR and the LNR -
Scope: the DNR and LNR -
The new EO does not detail which parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions[1] are subject to the new U.S. sanctions. It is likely that...more
2/22/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
United States ,
Vladimir Putin
A new framework for foreign direct investments in the United Kingdom -
Takeaways -
• The United Kingdom Government has adopted a CFIUS-style National Security and Investment Act (“the Act”).
• The new law takes...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
Over the past few weeks, we have been speculating on the international trends and tides we expect to see in the next four years under a new U.S. presidential administration. So that you can enjoy our prognostications (before...more
12/17/2020
/ Asia ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Recovery Plans ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration ,
UK
On November 11, 2020, the UK government proposed a much anticipated National Security and Investment Bill (the Bill or proposed Regulation) before Parliament.
The Bill is the result of a series of government papers and legal...more
The UK government has now made a show of force in its foreign direct investment (FDI) reviews.
For the first time, the UK Secretary of State issued an order to prevent a transaction for raising public interest...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 Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, CFIUS, is the U.S. government agency that conducts national security reviews of foreign direct investment in the United States. The CFIUS rules have been significantly...more
4/10/2019
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Member State ,
National Security ,
Norway ,
UK
On April 3, 2017, the UK Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) announced new penalties for economic sanctions violations of £1 Million or 50% of the value of the transaction, whichever is higher. As a...more
5/24/2017
/ Breach of Financial Sanctions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
HM Treasury ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Policing and Crime Act 2017 ,
UK
On the morning of June 24, 2016, we woke up to a headline that had been much discussed, but still added a jolt to many people’s morning coffee: Britain to Leave the European Union....more
In April 2015, the UK Bribery Act (UKBA) celebrated its fifth birthday. In the same month, the Serious Fraud Office brought a third round of corruption charges under the UKBA in the Alstom case. Those allegations, brought...more
5/20/2015
/ Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Investigations ,
Plea Agreements ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Suspensions & Debarments ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act