Photo of Francesca M.S. Guerrero

Francesca counsels clients on compliance with export controls, sanctions, import regulations, human rights and forced labor, and the FCPA and antibribery laws. She works closely with companies to develop tailored compliance programs that fit their specific needs, and routinely advises clients on some of their most challenging international transactions, involving dealings in high-risk jurisdictions or with high-risk counterparties. Francesca also counsels companies through all phases of internal investigations of potential trade and antibribery violations and represents companies across industries before related government agencies.

On November 18, 2022, Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) director Manual Garza announced that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) added three new forced labor benefits for its trade compliance partners “to the greatest extent possible and practical effective immediately.” These benefits include:

  • Front of the Line Admissibility Review: CTPAT trade compliance members who have

On November 23, 2022, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) that mandates CBP personnel at all U.S. ports of entry detain raw sugar and sugar-based products produced in the Dominican Republic by Central Romana Corporation Limited (Central Romana). This WRO followed an investigation that reasonably indicated Central Romana uses forced

On November 26, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Venezuela General License (GL) 41 authorizing all transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to certain activities for or related to the operation and management by Chevron Corporation or its subsidiaries (“Chevron”) of Chevron’s joint ventures in Venezuela (collectively, the “Chevron

On November 26, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Venezuela-related General License 8K, extending authorization until May 26, 2023 for certain activities previously authorized under General License 8J. General License 8K authorizes the continuation of transactions and activities “ordinarily incident and necessary to the limited maintenance of

UPDATE: On November 1, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a message announcing that implementation of its Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Region Alert is postponed until further notice. CBP stated that its Office of Trade “is actively working with impacted users to address concerns” and that a new implementation date will

Key Notes:

  • The Rule restricts exports to China of high-end chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including foreign made items that are the product of U.S. technology.
  • The Rule restricts the export of a wide range of items that would support certain supercomputing or integrated circuit production end-uses in China. In some circumstances, any item subject

Key Notes:

  • The Treasury Department recently released guidelines specifying conduct that may be considered a violation of CFIUS regulations.
  • The guidelines provide information about how CFIUS gathers information and the formal penalty process.
  • They also indicate factors that CFIUS may consider in making an enforcement determination, including aggravating and mitigating factors.

On September 15, 2022,

On October 14, 2022, the Departments of Commerce, Treasury and State issued a joint alert regarding the Impact of Sanctions and Export Controls on Russia’s Military-Industrial Complex. The alert provides a summary of the major actions taken by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) with

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.”

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