On December 8, 2021 the EU Commission published its proposal for a new “Anti-Coercion Instrument.” The regulation is being proposed in response to targeted deliberate economic pressures applied to the EU and its Member States in recent years and seeks to deter countries from restricting or threatening to restrict trade…
On October 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced an interim final rule (Interim Rule), which will amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add controls for the export, reexport and transfer of certain cybersecurity exploitation, intrusion and monitoring tools. The Interim Rule…
On September 14, 2021, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA’ s) Cabinet of Ministers launched a new Permanent Ministerial Committee for Examining Foreign Investments (CEFI) that would review foreign investments for potential national security threats. This development comes at an important time as the Kingdom opens its doors for foreign…
The CFIUS process itself requires close strategic consideration in getting to deal certainty. Navigating the review process can be a daunting task, especially as CFIUS appears to be moving quickly and proactively to stop risky deals from closing. Join our colleagues Nancy Fischer and Patrick Hovakimian in The Deal’s September…
On August 9, 2021, the one-year anniversary of the claimed reelection of Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenka, President Biden issued an “Executive Order on Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Belarus” (August 9, 2021 Executive Order). The Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) implemented…
On July 30, 2021, the Biden Administration published a Proposed Amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (Proposed Rule) that, among other things, would impose significantly increased U.S. content requirements for U.S. Government procurements when the Buy American Act of 1933 (BAA) applies. These increases follow a trend of tightening…
The Biden Administration has signaled an expanded commitment to longstanding U.S. anti-corruption policies, and recent enforcement actions and policy announcements provide insights into what foreign officials, companies and investors can expect. Early signs indicate an intent both to bolster core anti-corruption enforcement through the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and…
TAKEAWAYS The prior Administration’s November 2020 Executive Order (E.O.) 13959 prohibited U.S. persons from engaging in the purchase or sale of any publicly traded securities of designated Communist Chinese Military Companies (CCMCs). Given that several companies designated as CCMCs had successfully challenged their designation in the U.S. courts, the new…
As part of its continuing efforts to protect US communications networks from communications equipment and services that pose a national security risk, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on June 17, 2021, released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry (NPRM/NOI) seeking comments on its proposal to prohibit the…
On April 26, 2021, the UK announced a new global anti-corruption sanctions regime and has imposed sanctions on 22 people whom the UK Government has reasonable grounds to suspect have been involved in serious corruption. Under the new Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/488), those designated will be subject…