On October 5, the trade ministers of the 12 nations participating in the negotiations announced that they had successfully concluded the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam are the member countries. There is a…
On Monday, September 21, 2015, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) took coordinated action to further ease U.S. restrictions on trade with Cuba and Cuban nationals. OFAC amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR),…
Under the terms of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, Congress had until September 18 to reject President Obama’s promised sanctions relief for Iran agreed to under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Although the House of Representatives voted to reject the deal, Senate Democrats blocked debate on a…
On July 22, 2015, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released amendments to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) implementing the Secretary of State’s May 29, 2015 decision to rescind the designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. The removal of Cuba from Country Group…
On June 31, Congress, led by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), allowed the authorization of the U.S. Export-Import bank to expire without any vote. As previously reported, the future of the Ex-Im Bank has been at risk since Tea Party Republicans, especially members of the House Republican…
On July 14, 2015, representatives of the P5+1 countries reached an agreement with Iran on a “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” (JCPOA) regarding Iran’s Nuclear Program. Subject to review by several of the parties’ legislatures and after verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of steps to be taken…
On June 24, after weeks of legislative wrangling and extensive lobbying by influential interest groups, the U.S. Senate passed the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, better known as the Trade Promotion Authority (“TPA”) legislation. The House approved identical legislation last week, so the President now can…
Companies wishing to take advantage of the efficiencies of cloud computing face a dilemma—how to do so without running afoul of export controls? In a recent client alert, authors Christopher Wall and Sanjay Mullick examine how newly proposed regulations from the Directorate of Defense Trade Control (DDTC) and the Bureau…
On 19 June, the European Council extended EU sanctions against Russia pursuant to Council Decision (CFSP 2015/959). This follows a series of increasingly coordinated actions by the US and EU, such as the joint statement produced at the G7 meeting two weeks ago, to show a united front against continued…
This afternoon the House of Representatives approved a rule that extends time for a second vote on Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation which the House failed to pass on Friday. By a vote of 236-189, the House voted to allow for reconsideration of the trade legislation before July 30th. The next…