June 2021

Effective June 24, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will place five Chinese companies on the Entity List for human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang…

On June 21, 2021, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 16 individuals and five entities in response to the Lukashenko regime’s escalating violence and repression. The persons are all closely associated with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and, according to an OFAC press statement, “have harmed the people of Belarus through their activities…

On June 17, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued three general licenses related to the sanctions programs of Iran (General License N), Syria (General License 21) and Venezuela (General License 39), “Authorizing Certain Activities to Respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)…

On June 15, 2021, the United States and European Union (EU) issued a joint Summit Statement trumpeting a “renewed transatlantic partnership” at the conclusion of President Joseph Biden’s first trip abroad as president.  The statement establishes a Joint Transatlantic Agenda “for the post-pandemic era, and … regular dialogue to take stock of progress.”  The leaders…

On June 15, 2021, the United States and the European Union (EU) announced a “cooperative framework” to resolve their decades-long World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute involving alleged subsidies in the large civil aircraft industry supporting both Boeing and Airbus. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai stated, “Our goal was clear – to forge a new, cooperative…

Key Notes:

  • Proposed rule would allow persons working under a long-term contract to be considered “regular employees” under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) even if they work remotely.
  • Remote work would be permitted so long as people were not working in Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria or Venezuela, or

…

On June 8, 2021, the White House released its report analyzing the risks associated with supply chains for four key U.S. sectors – semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging; large capacity batteries; critical minerals and materials; and pharmaceuticals and advanced pharmaceutical ingredients.  The report, Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and Fostering Broad-Based Growth,…

On June 9, 2021, President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order (E.O.) to further address the threat posed to the U.S. information and communications technology and services (ICTS) supply chain declared in Executive Order 13873 (the “Telecom Supply Chain E.O.”; see Update of May 16, 2019).  The June 9, 2021 E.O. also revoked and…

On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14032, “Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Certain Companies of the People’s Republic of China” (EO). The EO supersedes the executive orders targeting “Communist Chinese Military Companies” that the Trump administration issued. Specifically, it revises Sections 1 through 5 of Executive Order 13959…

On June 6, the European Commission adopted new Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to enable organizations to transfer personal data outside the European Union (EU) in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The new SCCs are intended to address the complex data processing issues that impact modern businesses, and they impose several novel obligations…