On June 16, 2023, the US Commerce Department published a final rule (“Final Rule”), implementing President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order 14034 on “Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries,” to amend the Commerce Department’s “Securing the Information and Communications Technology Supply Chain” regulations, 15 C.F.R. Part 7 (“ICTS Regulations”). The amendments mainly relate to connected software applications. The Final Rule was issued in response to comments received to a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) issued…
On April 18, 2023, Matthew S. Axelrod, the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), issued a memorandum titled “Clarifying Our Policy Regarding Voluntary Self-Disclosures and Disclosures Concerning Others” (the “VSD Policy Memorandum”) to clarify and announce BIS’ policies concerning voluntary self-disclosures (“VSDs”) of Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) violations and disclosures of possible EAR violations committed by third parties. The VSD Policy Memorandum builds on Assistant Secretary…
On March 30, 2023, the White House and US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced human rights and export control measures that underscore the US Government’s focus on human rights as a matter of foreign policy. The White House announcement is available here. The BIS announcement is available here. The White also issued a Fact Sheet that includes these announcements and other sanctions and export control provisions. White House: Export Controls…
On March 2, 2023, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”), and the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) published a Tri-Seal Compliance Note: Cracking Down on Third-Party Intermediaries Used to Evade Russia-Related Sanctions and Export Controls (“Compliance Note”) warning the public of efforts to evade Russia-related sanctions and export controls via use of third-party intermediaries and transshipment points. To aid the…