April 2021

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule amending the Somalia Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 551 (“Regulations”) and reissuing them to further implement the April 12, 2010 and July 20, 2012 Somalia-related executive orders. This final rule replaces the regulations that were published in abbreviated form…

On April 19, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License No. 2H under the Belarus Sanctions Regulations, representing a shift in the licensing policy for transactions with certain entities. Since October 2015, now revoked OFAC General License No. 2G had authorized transactions with these nine companies. The…

On April 15, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order (“E.O.”) on “Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation.”  The E.O.  establishes a new national emergency under which sanctions may be imposed against individuals and entities furthering specified harmful foreign activities of Russia against the United…

On April 13, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued a Scheduling Order in response to the joint status report filed the previous day by the plaintiffs and U.S. government defendants in the ongoing litigation involving more than 3,700 complaints challenging the legality of duties implemented on certain imports from China pursuant to…

Since April 2020, we have partnered with foreign law firms to monitor and report on the most relevant government measures worldwide addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. This most recent (and final) version of the guide includes a concise, corporate-focused and user-friendly list of government measures and covers areas like tax, restructuring, business immigration, government contracts…

On April 12, 2021, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) issued additional guidance regarding changes that have been made to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) pertaining to export of defense articles or services to Russia. The guidance summarizes changes that were implemented on March 18, 2021, when the Departments of…

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) issued a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations to eliminate most reporting requirements related to open source encryption software and certain “mass market” encryption items and to revise the Commerce Control List.

Key Notes:

  • BIS issued a final rule eliminating certain reporting requirements

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On April 8, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule adding seven Chinese supercomputing entities to the Entity List for “conducting activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States” due to their support of China’s military modernization and “other…

On April 5, 2021, the U.S Court of International Trade (CIT) published a summary judgment opinion invalidating former President Donald Trump’s executive order, Proclamation 9980, which imposed 25 percent tariffs on various imports of aluminum and steel derivative articles pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The CIT found in favor…