On April 6, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), a paramilitary and white supremacist group, and several of its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). This is the first time the United States has applied sanctions to a white supremacist group. Impact of…
TAKEAWAYS Establishes deadlines for Committee to respond to FCC referrals Invites Committee review of existing license holders Resolution of long pending FCC proposed rulemaking expected On April 4, 2020, the White House issued an Executive Order creating the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications…
On April 7, 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released for public inspection a temporary rule that prohibits the export of five types of personal protective equipment (PPE) without explicit approval by FEMA. The rule will remain in effect from April 7, 2020 through August 8, 2020. The rule…
TAKEAWAYS A transfer of control of a borrower or its business to non-U.S. lenders who exercise remedies under financing documents could trigger CFIUS issues CFIUS regulations adopted in February 2020 dramatically heighten the risk to non-U.S. lenders and borrowers by sweeping many more businesses and industries within CFIUS’ regulatory reach.…
On Friday, March 20, 2020, in an effort to fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it is accepting exclusions requests to remove tariffs imposed on Chinese origin medical-care products under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Section 301). This process does not…
On March 12, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sanctions against a second affiliate of PJSC Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) related to its activities with Venezuela. OFAC added TNK Trading International S.A. of Switzerland (TNK) to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List…
On March 6, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) instructing the Chinese company Beijing Shiji Information Technology Co. Ltd. (Shiji) to divest its acquisition of StayNTouch Inc., a U.S.-based software company providing management systems to hotels. Pursuant to the EO, Shiji is required to fully divest its interest…
On March 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a proposed rule establishing filing fees for parties submitting a voluntary notice to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for “covered transactions” under Part 800 (which includes covered investments) and “covered real estate” under Part…
On February 3, 2020, the Department of Commerce published a final rule that amends the regulations for countervailing duty investigations to allow the imposition of duties on countries that undervalue their currencies. Publication of the final rule follows a May 28, 2019, notice of the proposed rule. The regulation will…
On January 10, 2020, the United States imposed additional sanctions on Iran in the wake of recent tensions between the countries and the continuing broader “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran. Specifically, President Trump signed Executive Order 13902 (E.O. 13902) authorizing the imposition of secondary sanctions on certain transactions involving Iran’s…