On May 7, 2015, with a final vote of 98-1, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that would establish congressional review for any nuclear deal with Iran as part of the P5+1 negotiations with Iran. We reported on the P5+1 Iran nuclear agreement framework in our April 2nd blog post. This legislation, if passed, would establish a 30-day period in which Congress could by resolution either approve or reject any final nuclear deal reached with…
Earlier today, representatives of the P5+1 governments reported that negotiators have reached an understanding with Iran regarding the framework for an agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear program. A fact sheet outlining the parameters of this understanding is available online here. A comprehensive agreement remains to be written, but according to the agreed framework such an agreement will provide for the relaxation of certain US, EU, and UN sanctions targeting Iran if it is verified that Iran is abiding…
On December 30, 2014, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued long-awaited guidance clarifying that certain lightly processed crude oil are “petroleum products” that may be exported without a specific authorization otherwise required under the Short Supply Controls relating to crude oil and petroleum products in the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). BIS in particular posted frequently asked questions and answers (“FAQs”) to its website that, among other things, clarify how BIS…
As anticipated in our earlier blog entry, on September 17, 2014, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) implemented new restrictions on the export, reexport and transfer (including in-country transfer) of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to certain major Russian energy and defense sector companies by adding those companies to the Entity List. BIS also has amended the EAR to impose licensing requirements on the export, reexport, and…