In a January 14 segment of the British news program, “The Briefing” (on British Internet radio channel, Monocle.com), host Nancy Durham spoke with Pillsbury partner Matias Travieso-Diaz on potential obstacles and practical implications in play in the reestablished diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba. Download Transcript: An Interview with…
The Obama administration implemented its promised changes to U.S. sanctions and export controls for Cuba effective January 16, 2015. Although most trade and transactions still are prohibited, the revisions to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ease licensing requirements in a number of areas, including…
A number of useful FAQs, notices and rules documents have been released by U.S. government agencies following President Obama’s December 17, 2014, announcement of plans to normalize relations with Cuba. Below, you will find several useful links to those documents. From the U.S. Department of Commerce: Bureau of Industry and…
Ukraine Freedom Support Act The enactment of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 starts the timeline for the following new extraterritorial sanctions: Sanctions on Rosoboronexport (effective January 17, 2015) – The President is required to impose three or more sanctions from the list of options below. Rosoboronexport is the…
President Obama made an unexpected announcement this week signaling a “new course” for Cuba after more than fifty years of comprehensive U.S. sanctions. Reestablishing diplomatic relations is a major change. In terms of business impact, however, the announcement signaled small openings and incremental extensions of existing licensing policy. Existing legislation…
Stephan E. Becker, Pillsbury partner, will co-present on the topic of “U.S. Sanctions Relating to the Unrest in Ukraine: Compliance Challenges,” on Thursday, October 9 at 1:00pm. The United States began by imposing sanctions on persons and entities associated with the unrest in the Ukraine, but the sanctions have been…
The United States recently expanded sanctions and export controls against the Russian defense sector. These designations and export control steps have implications for defense contractors, parts suppliers and brokers. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently expanded the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) to include entities in the…
On August 13, 2014, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued new guidance on ownership/control for determining blocked parties. This represented the first significant update on this topic since February 14, 2008, and may have important practical implications for how companies conduct due diligence, assess whether potential business associates…
In response to the continuing situation in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, the European Union (EU) has adopted further significant sanctions against Russia. On 6 August 2014, Russia responded. The EU is continuing to intensify sanctions against Russia in response to the rising tensions in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. A number…
The United States, European Union and Canada each took steps recently to expand sanctions against Russia, including the targeting of major defense companies and the addition of export controls. These designations and export control steps have implications for defense contractors and brokers. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) listed…