Insights on Export Controls & Economic Sanctions

Arent Fox International Trade Group Partner Marwa Hassoun and Government Contracts Group Counsel Travis Mullaney chat about Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act.

In his last days, President Trump takes a swipe against companies identified by the Department of Defense (DoD) as Communist Chinese military companies by prohibiting US persons from investments.

Arent Fox Partner Kay Georgi will speak at the Passport to Proficiency Series on the Export Administration Regulations event.

The US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has proposed a new Export Control Classification Number (ECCN), 2D352, to control “software” that is capable of being used to operate nucleic acid assemblers and synthesizers.

The US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule amending the license review policy for items on the Commerce Control List that are controlled for national security (NS) reasons and are destined to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Venezuela, or Russia.

Arent Fox International Trade Practice Leader Kay Georgi will speak as a Co-Chair at the US-China Trade Controls Conference hosted by the American Conference Institute on October 22, 2020.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is now following new rules on mandatory filings for certain foreign investments in critical technology companies.

Target areas are telecom, information security, and sensor items that can be used for censorship, surveillance, detention, and use of force.

BIS will be looking at items that are controlled only for anti-terrorism, crime control, short supply, United Nations embargoes, or designated as EAR99 in establishing new Foundational Technologies Controls.

There is a risk that garments made from cotton produced by XPCC could be subject to a Customs and Border Protection withhold release orders.

On August 17, 2020, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule (the Final Rule) (1) adding additional Huawei non-US affiliates to the Entity List, (2) confirming the expiration of the Temporary General License (TGL).

Arent Fox Partner Kay Georgi will speak at the US - China Trade Controls Conference.

Arent Fox Partner Kay Georgi will speak as part of a panel discussion titled “Recent Changes to the EAR.”

As the US technology competition with China continues to intensify, the Trump Administration has taken another step to tighten the screws on China.

Arent Fox counsel Matthew Tuchband will be leading a panel discussion on addressing compliance for new sanctions programs at the 13th Annual Flagship Conference on Economic Sanctions Enforcement and Compliance.

The Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Enforcement Division of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently published its second edition of A Resource Guide to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “Updated Guide”), which was originally released in November 2

On Monday, June 29, the Departments of Commerce and State announced that they were following through with changes to treat Hong Kong like China for exports of military and dual-use goods.

In four new FAQs issued on June 5, OFAC provides a few surprises in its clarifications of the sector-based sanctions contained in Iran-related Executive Order 13902, which was issued this past January.

A number of governments have imposed export controls on the export of a variety of medical (and industrial) PPE. In other words, if you want to import face masks into the US from a European country, you need a license to export them from the EU first.

On Friday, May 15, 2020, the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) revised an arcane export control rule that imposes US export controls on foreign-origin products (hardware, software, and technology) that are the “direct product” of certain US technology.

On April 4, 2020, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13913, “Establishing the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector.” 

Through an array of legislative and administrative measures over the past couple of years, the US Government has made significant strides in its effort to limit, and perhaps end altogether, the proliferation of Chinese-origin telecommunications technology in US infrastructure.

In recent years, the US Government has grown increasingly concerned by China’s official policy of “military-civil fusion” (MCF), and multiple national security agencies have sounded the alarm bell.

In yet another action on April 28, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule imposing stricter license requirements on a wide range of exports, reexports and transfers to China, Russia, or Venezuela for “military end uses” or to “military end users.”

On April 28, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a proposed rule that would revise License Exception Additional Permissive Re-Exports (APR).