2023 witnessed significant developments from the United States government aimed at countering China’s influence and curbing potential threats to U.S. national security. These developments have spanned legislative and administrative action, shifting long-standing paradigms within export controls, import controls, and sanctions. The Biden Administration is increasingly utilizing these tools as strategic elements of foreign policy, often in conjunction with allied nations.
The restrictions on trade with China are rapidly evolving and increasingly nuanced, influenced by growing Congressional attention on the U.S.-China relationship, increased pressure on the Department of Commerce, and international interest in upholding strong supply chains. For companies to navigate these tensions, they must remain well-informed regarding the myriad of regulations which have been imposed in the past year.
This post is the first in a series dedicated to highlighting notable developments in the sanctions and export controls realm targeting China. This series will span across three sectors in which our team has been notably engaged: technology, energy, and supply chain resiliency. The final blog in the series will forecast expected developments through 2024.
On August 9, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern. The new Executive Order (EO) is the culmination of more than a year of deliberation by the Biden Administration regarding outbound investment provisions and kicks off a 45-day comment process to develop a new regulatory mechanism for reviewing outbound investments in foreign countries of concern. This regulatory process and the criteria under consideration are described in the Department of the Treasury’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), the key aspects of which are summarized below.
Global Trade & Sanctions Law