On June 21, 2024, the US Treasury Department (“Treasury”) issued a much-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”)—pursuant to Executive Order (“EO”) 14105 of August 9, 2023, “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern”—regarding the upcoming outbound investment review regime, which prohibits or, alternatively, requires notification of certain investments into entities linked to China and engaged in subsets of three specified technologies (semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies,…
On May 28, 2024, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (“CACR”) and issued new and updated frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) to further implement a policy originally announced by the Biden Administration on May 16, 2022 to increase support for the Cuban people and private sector entrepreneurs. The CACR has been revised as follows: Clarification and Expansion of Authorized Internet-Based Services and Software: The authorization for…
On April 18, 2024, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (“FCDO”) announced a coordinated sanctions package targeting Iran. In the US, OFAC added 16 individuals and 10 entities to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”) and the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) also expanded the scope of Foreign Direct Product (“FDP”) rules for foreign-produced items…
In an era where regulatory compliance is under intense scrutiny, the importance of a well-orchestrated response to trade and sanctions investigations cannot be overstated. An investigation may involve transactions occurring in multiple jurisdictions, laws of separate jurisdictions, and inquiries from (or disclosures to) multiple governmental authorities. Investigations may begin through an internal whistleblower or other internal discovery, which grants the company more discretion in directing the tempo and scope of the investigation. In other instances,…