On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14032, “Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Certain Companies of the People’s Republic of China” (the “CMIC EO”). This amends and replaces Executive Order 13959 (“EO 13959”) and revokes Executive Order 13974 (“EO 13974”) that restricted investments in certain “Communist Chinese Military Companies” (“CCMCs”). The main changes implemented by the CMIC EO and related public guidance are to (1) change the group of targeted…
Effective March 22, 2021, Canada has imposed new sanctions against four Chinese officials and a Chinese entity under the newly enacted Special Economic Measures (People’s Republic of China) Regulations (the “Regulations”), in response to the alleged human rights situation in Xinjiang. Becoming a listed person under the Regulations has two noteworthy consequences. First, listed persons who are individuals are considered inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Second, the Regulations effectively impose…
On July 14, 2020, President Trump issued Executive Order 13936 “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization” (the “Hong Kong Normalization EO”), which directs the suspension or elimination of special and preferential treatment for Hong Kong under a wide range of US laws, setting the stage for Hong Kong to be treated the same as mainland China. It also authorizes sanctions against persons involved in developing, adopting, or implementing China’s Law on Safeguarding National…
On June 17, 2020, the President signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 into law. The law authorizes the President to impose sanctions on persons, including Chinese government officials, determined to be responsible for certain human rights violations and abuses committed against Muslim minority groups in China or elsewhere. The law requires the administration to sanction those individuals by blocking their assets and declaring them ineligible for visas or admission to the United…