On October 7, 2022, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Final Rule adding 31 Chinese entities to its Unverified List on the basis that it has been “unable to verify their bona fides because an end-use check could not be completed satisfactorily for reasons outside the U.S. Government’s control.”
2022
Biden Issues Executive Order to Focus the Consideration of National Security Factors in the CFIUS Review Process
Key Notes:
- The Executive Order does not change the review process or legal jurisdiction of CFIUS.
- The Executive Order revises the national security factors for CFIUS to include in its foreign investment review process.
- The Office of Science and Technology Policy is tasked with publishing lists of technology sectors it assesses are fundamental to U.S.
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OFAC Expands Russia Sanctions Following Putin’s Illegal Annexation of Four Ukrainian Regions
On September 30, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated hundreds of Russian individuals and entities and placed them on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of additional Ukrainian territories.
The new designations target 14 suppliers connected to the country’s military-industrial complex, including…
Commerce Adds Numerous Russian Entities to BIS’ Entity List
On September 30, 2022, in response to Russia President Vladimir Putin’s illegal effort to annex further Ukrainian territory, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Final Rule that added 57 entities located in Russia and the Crimea region of Ukraine to the Entity List for supporting the Russian military’s continuing…
OFAC Sanctions Facilitators of Iranian Oil Sales
On September 29, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a network of international companies for facilitating the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products to South and East Asia. OFAC targeted the network, which includes a myriad of front companies in…
U.S. Freight Rail Coupler Industry Files Trade Remedy Petitions Against Imports from China and Mexico
On September 28, 2022, the Coalition of Freight Coupler Producers – McConway & Torley LLC and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (Petitioners) – filed petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking antidumping and countervailing duties…
OFAC Issues Updated Iran General License Covering Certain Services, Software and Hardware for Communications
On September 23, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a revised Iran General License (GL) D-2 which authorizes the export, reexport by U.S. persons to Iran of certain services, software and hardware incident to communication. The purpose of the revised GL is to bring this OFAC guidance on…
Commerce Section 232 Magnet Import Investigation Concludes Without Tariffs
On September 21, 2022, after a year-long Section 232 investigation, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that rare earth neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet imports threaten national security. The investigation was initiated in September 2021 due to concerns that “critical national security systems rely on NdFeB permanent magnets, including fighter aircraft and…
Annual Blocked Property Reports Due to OFAC by September 30
All U.S. persons and persons otherwise subject to U.S. jurisdiction, not only U.S. financial institutions, holding property blocked pursuant to various OFAC sanctions programs must file their annual reports on such blocked property by September 30, 2022. This report is pursuant to 31 C.F.R. §§ 501.603. This report must include all blocked property held as…
OFAC Publishes Preliminary Guidance on Price Cap to Be Placed on Russian Oil
On September 9, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published preliminary guidance on how the United States, in coordination with the other G7 members, will implement a price cap on services related to the maritime transportation of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products. OFAC’s preliminary guidance reflects the joint…
